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BERKtttV 

GENERAL 
LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY    Of 
CALIFORNIA 


FISHING  TACKLE 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fishingtackleOOfrazrich 


Practice  With  a  Salmon  Fly-Rod 


FISHING 
TACKLE 

BY 

PERRY   D.  FRAZER 

Author  of   "Amateur   Rodmaking,"   etc. 
Illustrated 


0-tJ-=W-N-G 

HANDBOOKS 


Number  36 


NEW  YORK 

OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

MCMXIV 


Copyright,  1914,  by 
OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


Thanks  are  due  the  publishers  of  Forest  and  Stream 
and  Field  and  Stream  for  permission  to  incorporate  in 
this  volume  material  which  aopeared  in  those  publications. 


S//4-S/ 

F73 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Work  and  Recreation  in  the 

Closed  Season  ii 

II.  Overhauling  the  Tackle-Box     15 

III.  Care  of  Rods 26 

IV.  Cleaning  and  Re  varnishing    .     34 
V.  Reels  and  Their  Care   .      .     .41 

VI.  Cork  Drums  for  Reels  .      .      .58 

VII.  Leaders,  Gut,  and  Eyed  Flies  .     63 

VIII.  Rod  Cases  and  Forms      ...     77 

IX.  General  Hints 80 

X.  Equipment  for  Fly-  and  Bait- 
Casting  85 

XI.  Fly-Casting  Contests     .  .99 

XII.  Fly-Fishing  Practice     .     .     .104 

XIII.  Tournament  Lines  .     .      .      .117 

XIV.  Tournament  Fly-Casting   .     .132 


M846428 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Practice  with  a  Salmon  Fly-Rod.     Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

Fly-Fishing  for  Trout 32 

Rubber  and  German  Silver  Single  Action 

Reel 41 

Light  Click  Reel 42 

Narrow  Dry-Fly  Reel 44 

Milan  No.  2  Quadruple  Multiplying  Reel  45 

Meek  No.  2  Reel 46 

Meek  No.  3  Reel 47 

Position  of  Hand  and  Reel  in  Casting.  . .  54 
Reels    of   Same   Size    Fitted   with    Cork 

Drums 58 

Forming  the  Leader  Loops 68 

Attaching  End  of  Line  to  Leader 68 

Method  of  Tying  a  Leader  Knot 70 

Eyed  Fly  Box 71 

The  Turle  Knot 72 

Hooks   74 

Case  for  Rods 78 

The  Short  Bait-Casting  Rod  Is  Handy  on 

Pack  Trips 80 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Casting  Platforms 88 

Rod  Rack 90 

Floats  for  Marking  Line 93 

Accuracy  Bait-Casting  Target 95 

Dry-Fly   Accuracy    Casting — Washington 

Park,  Chicago 96 

Forward  Cast 108 

Back  Cast 109 

Position  at  Finish  of  the  Forward  Cast.  .  112 

Splicing 122 

Reel  for  Tournament  Fly  Lines 125 

Bait-Casting  for  Bass  in  Florida 128 


FISHING   TACKLE 


CHAPTER  I 

WORK  AND  RECREATION  IN  THE  CLOSED  SEASON 

AT  one  of  the  fly-  and  bait-casting  tourna- 
r\  ments  of  the  National  Association  of 
Scientific  Angling  Clubs,  a  visitor  who 
had  been  an  angler  all  his  life,  but  who  de- 
sired to  become  proficient  in  casting  with  the 
fly-rod,  asked  if,  in  purchasing  a  tournament 
fly-rod,  it  would  be  advisable  for  him  to  begin 
with  a  rod  of  say  nine  feet  and  eight  ounces, 
practice  with  it  awhile,  then  purchase  one  of  ten 
or  eleven  feet,  and  so  on,  his  idea  being  that 
he  would  be  sure  to  get  the  wrong  sort  of  a  rod 
at  first,  but  would  ultimately  learn  what  was 
best.  There  are  thousands  of  anglers  who 
view  the  purchase  of  fishing  tackle  in  this  light 
I  am  well  aware.  To  them  it  seems  that  there 
is  something  mysterious  connected  with  rods 
and  tackle  and  that  they  can  only  master  de- 
tails after  wasting  some  money. 

ii 


12  FISHING  TACKLE 

To  a  great  many  anglers,  too,  the  idea  of 
repairing  their  own  rods  and  tackle  seems  im- 
possible, while  as  for  making  little  odds  and 
ends  of  constant  usefulness,  this  is  believed  to 
be  a  task  to  be  looked  at  only  in  the  light  of 
certain  failure. 

In  my  little  workshop  I  have  a  few  simple 
tools  with  which  I  have  made  a  number  of 
articles,  which  if  not  handsome,  have  at  least 
given  me  the  greatest  satisfaction  when  they 
proved  to  be  practical.  There  are  very  few 
anglers  who  cannot  do  even  better  work.  Dur- 
ing the  long  evenings  of  autumn  and  winter  a 
great  deal  of  amusement  may  be  obtained  from 
overhauling  the  fishing  rods  and  tackle,  making 
little  devices  for  use  the  next  season,  and  giv- 
ing the  weary  brain  change  and  rest  from  the 
exactions  of  one's  daily  toil. 

Just  to  show  how  the  angler  may  experiment 
along  the  lines  that  fascinate  him,  I  will  mention 
a  new  reel  which,  while  from  one  of  the  best 
makers,  did  not  act  just  as  I  thought  it  should. 
All  of  the  parts  were  beautifully  made  and  fit- 
ted, but  there  was  tremendous  vibration  during 
a  cast,  and  in  my  own  way  I  reasoned  that  the 
handle  was  at  fault.  Not  wishing  to  mar  this, 
I  removed  it,  and  searching  through  a  box  of 
junk,  found  a  scrap  of  aluminum  about  half  as 


WORK  AND  RECREATION    13 

thick  as  the  German  silver  handle  of  the  reel. 
Laying  the  handle  on  this  scrap,  I  traced  its 
outline  with  a  scratch-awl,  but  made  it  shorter 
than  the  factory  handle,  then,  with  a  tiny  saw 
cut  just  outside  the  lines,  filed  the  edges 
smooth,  bored  a  hole  in  the  center  and 
squared  this  to  fit  the  handle-post. 

Holes  were  drilled,  in  one  end  for  a  finger 
knob  and  in  the  other  for  a  counter-weight.  The 
knob  was  made  from  a  piece  of  brass  rod. 
The  head  of  a  round-head  screw  was  cut  off  and 
filed  until  it  would  just  balance  the  knob  when 
the  new  handle  was  laid  across  one  edge  of  a 
three-square  file.  Both  the  screw-head  and  the 
knob  were  riveted  in  place,  the  handle  made  fast 
on  the  post,  and  timing  the  reel  with  my  watch, 
I  found  that  it  would  spin  twenty-six  seconds 
without  appreciable  vibration,  whereas  with 
the  original  handle  it  would  spin  only  seventeen 
seconds,  and  the  vibration  was  disagreeable  in 
casting. 

This  work  took  more  than  an  hour,  but  while 
the  reel  was  improved  for  my  use,  no  harm  had 
been  done  the  original  handle.  The  manufac- 
turer probably  had  a  certain  number  of  handles 
made,  and  used  this  one,  which  answered  the 
purpose  in  a  general  way,  but  was  not  of  the 
best  weight  or  length  for  that  particular  reel. 


14  FISHING  TACKLE 

A  little  careful  investigation  was  worth  while 
in  this  instance.  Any  angler  possessing  ordinary 
skill  can  make  a  better  handle  than  mine — and 
this  is  true  of  nearly  all  repairs  and  improve- 
ments in  rods  and  tackle.  Besides,  there  is  a 
satisfaction  in  overcoming  a  difficulty  yourself 
instead  of  leaving  it  to  someone  else. 


CHAPTER  II 

OVERHAULING  THE  TACKLE-BOX 

WITH  the  passing  of  the  winter  anglers 
begin  to  make  plans  for  the  next  fish- 
ing season.  And  although  the  nights 
gradually  grow  shorter,  it  is  not  until  half  of 
the  winter  has  passed,  and  the  nights  are  cold, 
and  it  is  so  pleasant  to  stay  indoors  and  tinker 
until  bedtime,  that  one  feels  like  settling  down 
to   doing  something  with  his  fishing  outfit. 

If  the  veteran  anglers  find  in  the  chapters 
that  follow  any  matter  that  is  ancient  history 
to  them,  they  will,  I  know,  be  charitable  enough 
to  admit  that  beginners  search  diligently  through 
books  and  papers  for  information  of  this  sort, 
and  they  deserve  all  the  consideration  and  en- 
couragement that  we  can  give  them.  Even 
some  of  the  veterans,  it  is  hoped,  may  find  here 
a  wrinkle  or  two  worth  remembering;  for  in  all 
walks  of  life  we  find  persons  who  say  they  are 
"not  handy"  at  doing  this  or  that  thing,  and 
thereby  lose  a  lot  of  pleasure.  For  it  is  real 
pleasure,  and  a  source  of  lasting  satisfaction 

15 


16  FISHING  TACKLE 

as  well,  to  any  angler  to  repair  his  own  tackle, 
and  all  through  the  active  season  he  can  make 
mental  notes  of  the  changes  which  his  experience 
tells  him  he  should  make  "  next  winter." 

The  alterations  made  are  those  decided  on 
after  long  consideration,  and  half  the  pleasure 
of  accomplishment  would  be  lost  were  someone 
else  allowed  to  do  the  tinkering  planned  for 
winter  pastime.  The  rodmaker  can  hardly  do 
these  small  jobs,  for  if  minor  changes  must  be 
made  by  a  professional,  the  chances  are  that 
they  will  not  be  made  at  all,  new  articles  being 
purchased  instead.  One  cannot  as  well  explain 
how  he  wants  a  thing  done  as  to  tinker  it  out 
himself.  And  the  tackle  dealer  who  keeps  re- 
pair materials  and  fittings  reaps  his  profit  on 
these  articles  in  the  dull  season. 

The  first  thing  to  do  is  to  lay  out  the  entire 
fishing  kit  and  make  a  detailed  survey  and  in- 
ventory. If  a  new  rod  is  decided  on,  write 
down  its  specifications,  while  your  ideas  are 
fresh,  at  the  end  of  the  season's  fishing.  Go 
over  the  old  rods  and  recall  their  faults,  so  that 
the  new  one  may  be  different.  Then  give  the 
order  for  the  new  one  to  your  rodmaker,  so 
that  he  may  have  abundant  time  to  fill  the  order 
before  his  busy  season  comes  on.  You  will  be 
much  better  satisfied  with  the  rod  he  makes  for 


<* 


OVERHAULING  17 

you  in  the  winter  than  if  you  wait  until  March 
before  ordering. 

If  fly  lines  have  been  left  on  the  reels,  take 
them  off  and  roll  them  in  coils  five  inches  or 
more  in  diameter.  If  left  on  the  reel  a  water- 
proof silk  line  will  come  off  in  small  spirals 
difficult  to  straighten,  and  it  is  a  good  idea  to 
rub  it  with  a  piece  of  flannel  moistened  with 
crude  petroleum,  then  rub  this  all  off,  coil  loosely 
and  tie  coil  in  three  or  four  places  with  thread. 
Hang  it  up  in  your  tackle  cabinet,  and  now  and 
then  during  the  winter  give  it  a  gentle  "  shaking 
up,"  to  be  sure  that  it  has  not  gone  sticky  from 
too  much  artificial  heat. 

A  cool  closet  is  the  best  place  for  fine  lines. 
It  is  a  good  plan  to  keep  a  dressed  line  on  one 
of  the  large  tournament  reels,  described  in  Fig. 
30.  I  make  it  a  practice  to  transfer  my  line 
from  my  fishing  reel  to  a  tournament  reel  as 
soon  as  I  return  from  a  fishing  excursion,  and  by 
so  doing  never  have  any  trouble  with  the  line. 

About  all  that  can  be  done  to  preserve  the 
braided  silk  bait-casting  line  is  to  keep  it  dry. 
The  angler  has  a  choice  of  three  kinds:  un- 
dressed silk;  waterproofed  silk;  and  soft 
dressed.  Nearly  all  treated  lines  are  more  dif- 
ficult to  use  on  a  bait  reel  than  those  that  are 
not  treated,  as  such  lines  are  more  or  less  wiry, 


18  FISHING  TACKLE 

and  sometimes  spring  off  the  reel  in  spirals, 
or  cause  backlashes.  The  soft  dressed  line,  be- 
ing braided  softer  and  finished  by  hand  rubbing, 
gives  less  trouble  than  other  lines.  Among  the 
better  class  of  undressed  lines,  the  favorites 
seem  to  be  those  that  are  braided  very  hard 
over  a  heavy,  twisted  silk  core,  the  braid  being 
so  tight  as  to  render  the  line  practically  water- 
proof, or  at  least  against  soaking.  These  lines 
are  also  very  smooth  and  keep  their  shape, 
which  a  soft  line  will  not  do. 

Paraffin  dissolved  in  turpentine  and  applied 
quite  warm  by  soaking  the  line  in  it  will  im- 
prove undressed  silk  lines  without  rendering 
them  wiry,  but  this,  like  a  paraffin-benzine  dress- 
ing, will  wear  off  in  time.  The  gossamer-like 
casting  lines  have  so  little  body  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  fill  them  with  anything  that  will  not 
quickly  wear  off. 

In  Mrs.  Marbury's  "  Favorite  Flies  "  a  cor- 
respondent makes  the  claim  that  small  casting 
lines  can  be  improved  by  soaking  them  in  a 
warmed  solution  of  paraffin  and  benzine.  He 
calls  this  semi-waterproofing  and  claims  that  a 
line  so  treated  will  last  longer  and  cast  further 
than  any  other.  The  line  is  not  taken  out  of 
the  solution  until  the  latter  cools,  in  order  that 
all  the  wax  possible  may  be  retained  in  the  line. 


OVERHAULING  19 

Dry  for  a  day,  then  rub  with  a  cloth  and  chamois 
skin.  I  prefer  turpentine  to  benzine,  as  the 
former  renders  the  line  soft  and  waxy.  The  tents 
which  I  have  treated  in  this  way  for  many  years 
seem  never  to  rot,  are  soft  and  light,  and  have 
never  leaked. 

If  you  have  never  used  a  line  dryer,  begin 
now.  There  are  several  good  and  inexpensive 
ones  on  the  market.  No  bait  line  can  be  de- 
pended on  if  left  on  the  reel  over  night  without 
drying.  A  silk  line  costs  from  one  to  four 
dollars  for  one  hundred  yards,  and  no  angler 
can  afford  to  let  a  good  line  rot  for  want  of 
drying.  Lines  are  frequently  injured  by  miner- 
als in  the  water  they  are  used  in,  and  if  they 
are  dried  after  use,  this  may  partially  offset  the 
harm.  If  you  have  no  dryer,  pull  the  line  off 
the  reel  and  into  your  hat,  or  in  a  pan,  if  you 
are  in  camp,  putting  the  receptacle  in  some  place 
where  it  will  not  be  turned  over.  In  the  morn- 
ing wind  the  line  back  on  the  reel.  Never  dry 
a  silk  line  in  the  sun.  A  dryer  is  best,  for  the 
line  can  be  left  on  one  over  night,  so  that  the 
air  will  have  abundant  time  to  dry  the  line 
thoroughly. 

In  what  shape  do  you  keep  your  loose  hooks, 
sinkers,  swivels,  trolling  and  casting  spoons, 
artificial  minnows,  etc.?     The  neat  little  boxes 


20  FISHING  TACKLE 

these  come  in  are  all  right,  but  if  one  has  many, 
they  are  bulky  enough  to  fill  a  suit-case  instead 
of  a  tackle-box.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  put  in  the 
tackle-box  the  reels,  lines,  etc.,  customarily  taken 
on  fishing  trips,  then  fill  in  the  remaining  space 
with  the  sliding-top  boxes  the  baits  come  in. 
Put  away  all  boxes  not  needed,  and  put  several 
baits  in  each  box  retained.  Each  variety  in  a 
separate  box  will  simplify  matters.  The  small 
spinners  and  casting  spoons  go  nicely  into  little 
envelopes  to  be  tucked  in  corners  of  the  tackle- 
box,  loose  hooks  in  other  envelopes,  snelled 
hooks  in  a  box  by  themselves.  A  small  tin 
tobacco-box  is  handy  for  odds  and  ends  like 
sinkers,  swivels,  small  spool  of  silk,  wax,  and 
cement. 

The  trade  supplies  celluloid  and  other  cases 
of  various  shapes  for  artificial  lures,  and  these 
are  cheap.  Lures  kept  in  them  are  free  from 
rust,  and  better  still,  from  the  tangling  that  is 
inevitable  when  many  devices  with  hooks  at- 
tached are  kept  together.  Besides,  one  may 
see  what  is  in  each  envelope  without  opening 
it — an  immense  advantage  when  he  is  in  a  hur- 
ry to  change  lures. 

A  file,  a  small  bottle  of  the  best  reel  oil,  or 
better,  one  of  the  metal  oil  tubes;  two  pairs  of 
small  pliers,  one  with  flat,  the  other  with  round 


OVERHAULING  21 

jaws;  and  a  screw-driver  (for  reels)  should  be 
in  every  tackle-box.  With  this  equipment  you 
have  a  complete  repair  kit,  and  can  change  baits 
to  suit  conditions  as  you  find  them,  ashore  or 
afloat 

An  assortment  of  eyed  flies  is  handy,  too,  for 
the  bait-caster.  When  bass  are  taking  feathered 
spinners  or  spoons,  changing  flies  is  often  advis- 
able, and  this  is  especially  true  when  single- 
hook  lures  are  used  instead  of  the  now  too  com- 
mon trebles.  Some  anglers  remove  all  treble 
hooks  from  artificial  lures,  replacing  them  with 
single  bare  or  feathered  hooks,  these  to  be 
changed  to  suit  conditions.  If  this  practice 
is  followed,  it  is  handy  to  keep  a  few  lures  un- 
mounted, attaching  a  bare  hook  and  a  minnow, 
or  an  eyed  bass  fly,  as  required.  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  worth  noting  that  few  of  our  hooks 
of  O/O  size  and  thereabout  have  eyes  large 
enough  to  go  on  the  wires  with  which  the  ma- 
jority of  our  spoons  and  wooden  minnows  are 
fitted,  necessitating  the  use  of  steel  split-rings 
to  attach  eyed  hooks  to  the  lures  in  a  proper 
manner. 

It  is  a  moot  question  whether  treble  and 
groups  of  treble  hooks  are  worth  the  trouble 
and  profanity  they  cause.  Some  anglers  have 
decided  views  on  this  subject,  declaring  that  they 


22  FISHING  TACKLE 

can  take  as  many  bass  on  single  as  on  treble 
hooks.  Certainly  the  single  hook  is  the  more 
sportsmanlike  of  the  two,  and  I  believe  the 
custom  of  using  three  to  five  trebles  will  give 
place  to  the  single  hook,  or  at  most  three  singles. 

While  the  lure  which  carries  a  single  tail- 
hook  is  the  neatest  and  least  troublesome  in 
weedy  waters,  for  bass  it  is  not  always  a  suc- 
cessful one,  because  of  their  habit  of  striking 
a  bait  amidships.  Two  side  hooks  and  one  tail- 
hook,  however,  are  enough  for  all  practical 
purposes.  It  is  claimed  that  pike  were  respon- 
sible for  the  first  trebles  and  it  is  also  said  the 
devil  invented  the  device.  Be  that  as  it  may, 
trebles  are  put  on  nearly  all  lures  because  such 
articles  are  made  for  jobbers.  The  retailers 
are  not  particular.  They  order  standard  baits, 
and  these  are  equipped  with  one,  three,  or  five 
trebles. 

No  doubt  all  manufacturers  would  be  glad 
to  equip  their  baits  with  single  hooks.  Their 
goods  would  make  a  better  appearance  in 
sample  cases  and  tackle  stores,  and  everybody, 
from  the  maker  to  the  angler,  could  get  along 
without  swearing.  Trying  to  put  a  wooden 
minnow  equipped  with  treble  hooks  in  a  box  is 
like  attempting  to  put  a  healthy  tomcat  on  his 
back.    When  you  think  you  have  succeded,  you 


OVERHAULING  23 

haven't  and  afterward  you  wish  you  hadn't 
tried. 

Some  manufacturers  arrange  their  lures  so 
that  the  hooks  may  be  changed,  just  as  a  fly- 
fisher  changes  flies,  to  suit  prevailing  con- 
ditions. Each  spoon  or  spinner  is  part  of  a  set, 
the  other  members  in  which  consist  of  four  or 
six  eyed  flies  of  well-known  merit.  I  may  be 
prejudiced  in  their  favor,  but  I  have  found  them 
valuable  additions  to  my  tackle  because  they 
are  killers,  and  the  flies  are  well  made.  Every 
dealer  stocks  them. 

Many  wooden  minnows,  spoons,  and  spin- 
ners are  equipped  with  feathered  treble  hooks, 
the  feathers  on  which  are  red  and  white.  If 
bass  do  not  take  a  fancy  to  them,  the  angler 
often  thinks  there  is  something  wrong  with  the 
lure's  size  and  color  when  the  fault  lies  in  the 
rooster-feathered  hooks.  A  trial  of  a  few  lures 
fitted  with  royal  coachman,  Parmacheene  Belle, 
gray  drake,  Seth  Green,  grizzly  king,  buck- 
tail,  silver  doctor,  or  some  of  the  hackles,  on 
single  hooks,  may  alter  one's  views  and  give 
his  single-hook  lure  a  wider  range  of  useful- 
ness. 

If  one  fly-fishes  often,  of  course  his  outfit 
will  be  much  smaller  than  if  he  fishes  with  both 
fly-  and  bait-rods,  but  if  he  goes  far  afield  on 


24  FISHING  TACKLE 

vacations,  he  will  hardly  feel  safe  without  a 
modest  tackle  box  or  book,  with  a  few  compact 
articles  tucked  away  in  it.  This  outfit  is  a  good 
deal  like  the  emergency  medicine  case — it  may 
not  seem  to  be  worth  taking  along,  but  when 
it  is  needed,  it  is  needed  badly. 

It  is  true  that  the  less  one  investigates  the 
mechanism  of  his  reel,  the  better  service  will  it 
render;  but  this  is  not  a  hard  and  fast  rule.  If 
you  do  take  your  reel  apart,  however,  use  a 
screw-driver  adapted  to  that  particular  purpose. 
The  best  type  that  I  have  ever  seen  is  obtainable 
from  tackle  dealers  generally  and  stores  that 
make  a  specialty  of  fine  tools.  The  blade  should 
fit  the  screw-head  slots  perfectly,  as  otherwise 
they  will  be  marred  and  will  cut  the  delicate 
line.  The  kind  referred  to  has  a  milled  stem 
fitted  with  a  swivel  top  that  fits  in  the  palm  of 
the  hand,  so  that  the  driver  is  held  steadily  while 
the  fingers  alone  turn  the  blade.  Such  a  tool 
costs  a  few  cents  more  than  the  common  kind, 
but  is  invaluable. 

Keep  a  very  fine  file  in  the  tackle-box.  The 
kind  known  in  the  trade  as  a  needle  file  is  best 
for  the  purpose.  The  stem  is  round,  the  blade 
flat  on  one  side  and  slightly  rounded  on  the 
other,  tapering  to  a  fine  point.  It  is  somewhat 
delicate,  but  nicely  tempered,  and  will  not  break 


OVERHAULING  25 

if  handled  with  ordinary  care.  With  one  of 
these  files  the  barbs  of  hooks  may  be  sharp- 
ened when  they  are  dull,  and  so  keen  is  the 
edge  of  the  file  that  you  can  cut  through  brass 
and  copper  wire  as  with  a  delicate  saw,  and 
small  repairs  call  for  a  file  of  this  sort. 

Rough  places  on  guides,  reel-seats  or  ferrules 
may  be  smoothed  without  scratching  the  pol- 
ished surface,  though  it  is  well  to  finish  up  with 
a  tiny  piece  of  the  finest  grade  of  crocus  cloth, 
to  insure  a  good  polish.  Powdered  tripoli,  used 
by  machinists  for  buffing,  etc.,  is  also  excellent 
for  polishing.  Oil  a  piece  of  chamois  skin,  then 
coat  it  lightly  with  tripoli,  and  you  have  a  good 
hand  polisher  for  rusted  hooks,  tarnished  troll- 
ing spoons,  rod  fittings,  and  reels.  The  tripoli 
will  polish  without  scratching,  but  for  obstinate 
cases  flour  emery  in  oil  may  be  used.  Dry  em- 
ery cuts  too  rapidly  for  any  polished  surface. 
Powdered  chalk  is  another  good  medium  for 
polishing  metal.  Use  crude  petroleum  with  it, 
and  also  with  tripoli.  Crude  oil  cleans  and  is  a 
very  handy  thing  to  have  in  the  tackle-box.  Keep 
it  in  one  of  the  little  metal  tubes  previously 
referred  to. 


CHAPTER  III 

CARE   OF  THE   RODS 

WHEN  you  come  to  the  fishing  rods,  it 
is  a  good  plan  to  take  them  all  out 
of  the  tackle  cabinet  or  place  where 
they  are  kept,  joint  them  up  and  examine  them 
in  a  superficial  way  to  see  if  any  ferrules  are 
loose,  and  if  there  are  any  kinks  in  tops  that  may 
be  straightened  out  before  the  angling  season 
comes  around.  Too  often  anglers  get  into 
the  habit  of  standing  rod-joints  in  a  corner  in  a 
closet.  If  they  are  protected  by  wood  forms, 
leather  cases,  aluminum  or  bamboo  tubes,  there 
is  little  danger  that  tips  and  joints  will  go 
crooked,  but  if  left  in  cloth  cases,  tied  with 
tapes,  they  may  need  straightening.  It  is  handy 
to  keep  a  rod  in  a  cloth  case,  but  often  one  tape 
is  tied  more  securely  than  others,  and  the  swell 
of  the  hand-grasp  will  help  to  curve  the  tips 
if  the  rod  is  left  in  a  dry  place  for  several  weeks. 
The  beauty  of  a  fine  trout  rod  may  be  marred 
in  a  short  time  merely  by  leaning  the  joints 
against  a  wall. 

A  better  plan  is  to  suspend  all  the  parts  from 
26 


CARE  OF  THE  RODS         27 

brass  brads  driven  in  the  walls  of  the  tackle 
cabinet.  The  top-rings  of  the  tips  will  fit  these 
brads,  as  also  the  top  guides  of  the  joints.  Better 
still,  suspend  the  jointed  rod  from  a  hook  placed 
in  the  ceiling  of  a  cool  closet.  This  applies  to 
split  bamboo  as  well  as  wood  rods,  for  while 
the  latter  are  more  easily  put  out  of  shape  dur- 
ing the  frequent  changes  in  temperature  in  win- 
ter, split  bamboo  may  also  lose  its  shape  in  time 
under  the  conditions  named,  particularly  the 
slender  tips  and  middle  joints. 

If  a  wood  rod  becomes  hopelessly  set  through 
long  use  and  heavy  strain,  suspend  it  from  a 
brad  driven  into  the  picture  moulding  in  a  cool 
room,  where  it  will  not  touch  anything,  and 
leave  a  heavy  reel  on  it,  the  latter,  of  course, 
covered  with  its  chamois  bag  to  keep  out  dust. 
After  a  few  damp  days  you  will  notice  the 
change,  and  before  the  fishing  season  opens  the 
rod  should  be  free  from  set.  But  if  not,  hang 
a  weight  on  the  butt  in  lieu  of  the  reel.  Rods 
used  in  tournament  casting  often  become  set 
in  the  direction  of  the  greatest  strain,  and  this 
is  difficult  to  correct,  but  the  treatment  referred 
to  above  will  help.  Applying  heat  direct,  bend- 
ing in  the  opposite  direction,  and  leaving  the  tip 
under  weights  are  all  too  severe  for  a  favorite 
rod,  but  it  should  be  straightened  if  this  can 


28  FISHING  TACKLE 

be  done  without  injuring  it,  for  one  cannot  cast 
accurately  with  a  crooked  rod. 

Another  good  plan  is  to  fasten  the  crooked 
tip  or  joint  to  a  steel  rod  or  to  the  edge  of  a 
board  that  is  straight.  Wind  over  all  with 
tape  or  soft  cord,  being  certain  that  the  tip  lies 
true  with  the  axis  of  the  rod. 

If  you  happen  to  know  a  metal  worker  who 
has  an  enamelling  oven,  ask  permission  to 
"  warm  over  "  your  rod  in  it.  A  temperature  of 
150  degrees  F.  will  not  harm  it  if  the  parts  are 
laid  flat  on  one  of  the  shelves  or  trays.  Straight- 
en the  joints  as  soon  as  they  are  taken  out  of  the 
oven,  then  suspend  them  until  they  are  cold. 
An  old  split  bamboo  rod  that  has  lost  its 
"  ginger  "  may  be  improved  by  this  treatment, 
as  the  glue  will  be  warmed  slightly,  and  will 
set  again  as  the  cane  cools.  The  temperature 
mentioned  above  will  not  affect  the  varnish 
on  the  rod,  but  it  is  not  well  to  go  above  that 
point. 

With  the  rods  all  jointed  up  and  in  shape  to 
be  examined  and  tried  for  faults,  decide  on 
what  changes  or  repairs,  if  any,  should  be 
made  by  their  maker,  and  do  not  delay  plac- 
ing such  rods  in  his  hand  at  once,  if  they  re- 
quire his  expert  skill.  Rodmakers  are  human 
and  therefore  likely  to  be  less  thorough  when 


CARE  OF  THE  RODS         29 

rushed  half  to  death  with  hurry  orders  the 
week  before  the  fishing  season  opens  than  if 
permitted  to  take  their  own  time  on  repair 
work.  You  have  a  right  to  expect  them  to  do 
their  best  work  on  your  rods,  but  too  often 
you  give  them  very  short  notice.  Be  fair  to 
them. 

When  you  have  laid  aside  the  rod  or  rods 
requiring  the  repairs  that  may  be  made  at  home, 
take  up  one  that  merely  needs  cleaning  and 
brightening  up.  The  cork  grasp,  if  soiled  and 
discolored,  may  be  improved  by  rubbing  with 
a  moist  cloth  and  soap.  Generally  this  will 
suffice  to  remove  the  combined  oil  and  dust  and 
leave  the  cork  bright  and  fresh,  but  if  not,  try 
alcohol  on  a  cloth,  turpentine,  or  even  benzine, 
rubbing  the  grasp  lengthwise  to  prevent  the 
liquid  from  softening  the  glue.  After  the  grasp 
has  dried,  roll  a  piece  of  tissue  paper  around 
it  and  bind  with  a  couple  of  elastics,  to  keep  it 
clean  while  you  work  on  other  parts  of  the 
joint.  If  the  grasp  be  very  badly  soiled,  rub 
it  slightly  with  an  old,  worn  piece  of  the  finest 
grade  of  sandpaper. 

Now  look  over  the  ferrules.  If  one  is  loose, 
remove  it.  If  it  is  fastened  with  a  pin,  and 
this  does  not  go  clear  th'rough,  tapping  around 
the  pin  with  the  wood  handle  of  a  screw-driver 


30  FISHING  TACKLE 

may  raise  it  enough  so  that  it  may  be  drawn 
out  with  pliers;  otherwise,  tap  lightly  with  a 
pointed  instrument  until  the  pin  is  driven  be- 
low the  surface  of  the  ferrule,  which  may  then 
be  removed  and  the  pin  drawn  from  the  wood. 
The  best  ferrules  are  pinned  through  from 
side  to  side,  and  the  pins  are  easily  pushed 
down  far  enough  to  be  removed  with  pliers. 

Scrape  the  old  cement  off  the  wood,  and  heat- 
ing your  stick  of  cement,  preferably  over  the 
flame  of  an  alcohol  lamp,  at  the  same  time 
warming  the  surface  to  be  coated,  spread  the 
cement  over  the  wood  and  smooth  it  around 
with  a  toothpick.  Warm  the  ferrule  just  enough 
to  soften  the  cement  that  is  in  it  and  push  it 
home.  It  is  not  difficult  to  fit  it  exactly  as  it 
was  before  if  a  needle  be  used  to  locate  the  hole 
from  which  you  drew  the  pin  and  of  course  this 
is  desirable,  since  the  making  of  a  new  hole 
may  serve  to  weaken  the  wood  at  that  point. 
If  any  cement  exudes  below  the  ferrule,  scrape 
this  off  with  a  toothpick,  but  wait  until  it  is 
cold  before  rubbing  off  all  traces  of  cement  with 
crude  oil  on  a  bit  of  silk  or  linen.  If  the  ferrule 
fits  the  wood  too  loosely,  wind  the  latter  with 
very  thin  silk  before  coating  with  cement. 

Agate  guides  that  are  loose  in  their  mount- 
ings  may  be   tightened  with   a   tiny  drop   of 


CARE  OF  THE  RODS         31 

cement  applied  while  hot  on  a  toothpick.  Do 
not  heat  the  agate,  as  it  may  crack. 

Every  rodmaker  has  a  cement  of  his  own 
and  neither  sells  it  nor  discloses  its  ingredients, 
but  when  all  is  said  on  this  subject,  there  are 
few  cements  that  will  hold  longer  than  shellac. 
Take  a  jar  of  orange  shellac  that  is  old  and 
sticky.  Moisten  with  a  few  drops  of  alcohol 
until  it  resembles  molasses  candy.  Warm,  ap- 
ply, and  be  happy. 

Take  up  a  rod  that  has  frayed  or  loose 
windings  here  and  there;  remove  all  of  these 
and  prepare  to  renew  them.  Tackle  dealers 
will  supply  you  with  winding  silk.  The  colors 
most  used  are  pale  red,  black,  grass  green,  and 
jasper  (mottled  black  and  white  or  brown  and 
white).  With  the  exception  of  black,  all  silk 
darkens  when  varnished,  hence  no  matter  what 
color  you  select,  see  that  it  is  one  or  two  shades 
lighter  than  your  first  choice.  Avoid  lilac,  pur- 
ple and  other  delicate  shades,  as  they  will  fade 
on  being  exposed  to  the  sunlight.  Orange  is 
a  good  color,  and  if  you  desire  less  of  the  so- 
called  barber-pole  effect,  select  cream-colored 
silk,  which  is  practically  transparent  under  the 
varnish.  Lemon  is  another  shade  that  gives  a 
nice  effect  under  varnish. 

If  you  must  depend  on  dry  goods  shops  for 


32  FISHING  TACKLE 

silk,  A  is  usually  the  smallest  size  obtainable, 
and  it  will  answer,  although  it  is  too  coarse  for 
nice  winding.  The  larger  the  rod,  the  coarser 
may  the  silk  be,  and  for  salmon  and  salt  water 
rods  I  have  used  button-hole  silk  for  guide  and 
ferrule  windings.  For  trout  rods  00  is  the  best 
size  for  all  windings. 

When  all  of  the  frayed  windings  have  been 
renewed,  coat  the  silk,  and  it  alone,  with  the 
best  grain  alcohol  shellac,  and  while  this  is 
fresh,  pass  it  over  a  thin  flame,  turning  the  rod 
rapidly  meanwhile.  This  will  cement  the  wind- 
ings and  the  shellac,  and  make  a  neat  finish. 
Give  the  windings  a  second  coat  of  shellac,  and 
when  this  is  dry,  cover  the  windings  with  coach 
varnish,  using  a  fine-pointed  brush  and  letting 
the  varnish  extend  a  trifle  beyond  the  winding 
on  either  side. 

If  guides  must  be  rewound,  fasten  them  in 
place  temporarily  with  waxed  thread  and  be- 
gin to  wind  with  silk  toward  the  guide,  not 
away  from  it.  In  this  way  the  end  of  guide- 
seat  is  covered  first  and  the  windings  will  be 
even,  whereas  if  you  begin  next  the  guide  and 
wind  away  from  it,  the  silk  will  slip  off  the 
end  of  the  guide-seat.  Where  the  guide  is 
to  be  wound  with  two  or  more  colors,  as  red 
with  green  edgings,   the  two   outside   edgings 


CARE  OF  THE  RODS         33 

should  be  put  on  first,  and  the  original  silk- 
end  left  without  cutting,  in  order  that  the  wider 
center  winding  will  grip  it  and  hold  all  to- 
gether. Both  outer  edgings  being  finished,  wind 
the  two  wide  bands,  then  the  two  inner  edgings. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CLEANING  AND  VARNISHING 

IF  the  butt-cap  and  reel-seat  of  your  rod 
are  tarnished,  rub  them  with  tripoli  on  a 
cloth  moistened  with  crude  oil,  then  polish 
all  of  the  ferrules  in  the  same  manner  until 
they  are  free  from  the  season's  stains.  Hold 
the  joint  under  your  left  arm,  with  the  ferrule 
resting  on  the  edge  of  a  table,  and  polish  with  a 
narrow  strip  of  cloth  in  the  same  way  that  a 
bootblack  "  shines  "  your  boots.  This  will  leave 
the  metal  a  dead  white  that  will  not  glisten 
in  the  sun.  If  there  is  any  varnish  on  the  fer- 
rules, it  may  be  removed  with  crude  oil,  but  in 
rubbing  be  careful  not  to  damage  the  wind- 
ings. 

Holding  the  rod  as  described  above,  go  over 
it  from  end  to  end  with  just  a  trace  of  crude 
oil  on  a  cloth.  Rubbing  lengthwise  will  tend  to 
work  the  oil  into  the  windings  and  darken  them, 
whereas  all  that  is  needed  is  to  clean  and  polish 
the  varnish.  Some  anglers  prefer  sweet  oil 
for  this  purpose,  but  lubricating  oils  are  too 
penetrating. 

34 


CLEANING  AND  VARNISHING  35 

Follow  with  chamois  skin  or  an  old  silk 
handkerchief,  rubbing  briskly,  but  very  lightly, 
working  backward  and  forward  rapidly  to 
avoid  heating  the  varnish  through  friction. 

When  the  rod  is  perfectly  dry  examine 
it  in  several  places  with  a  microscope.  If  the 
varnish  is  cracked,  as  it  may  be  after  several 
seasons'  use,  covering  this  old  varnish  with  a 
fresh  coat  is  scarcely  to  be  recommended,  when 
the  obvious  need  is  to  scrape  the  rod,  rewind, 
and  varnish  afresh;  but  if  the  varnish  is  in  fair 
condition,  give  the  rod  a  new  coating.  For  this 
purpose  buy  a  three-quarter-inch  oval  camel- 
hair  brush  and  a  small  can  of  extra  light  coach 
varnish.  The  dealers  supply  this  or  equally 
good  rod  varnish  in  small  bottles.  Do  not 
let  anyone  persuade  you  to  use  shellac. 

Before  varnishing,  leave  the  rod  in  a  warm 
room  until  it  is  in  condition  to  insure  the  var- 
nish taking  hold,  and  at  the  same  time  put  the 
varnish  bottle  in  a  pan  of  warm  water.  Coach 
varnish  is  quite  thick  and  somewhat  gummy. 
Warming  it  softens  the  gum  it  carries,  and 
makes  it  flow  and  set  nicely,  insuring  a  more 
brilliant  coating  than  is  possible  if  it  is  used 
cold.  Cold  varnish  may  contain  minute  lumps 
of  gum  that  amalgamate  with  the  oil  when 
warmed;   therefore,   use  warm  varnish. 


36  FISHING  TACKLE 

Coat  the  winding  next  to  the  ferrule  first, 
earefuly  avoiding  the  metal.  Lay  the  varnish 
lightly  around  each  winding,  then  flow  it  a 
trifle  more  thickly  lengthwise  of  the  joint,  turn- 
ing the  latter  slowly  to  insure  an  even  coating. 
This  varnish  is  laid  on  quite  thickly,  but  not 
so  much  so  that  it  will  crawl  or  set  in  patches. 
If  in  doubt,  go  over  the  work  without  any  fresh 
varnish  in  the  brush,  touching  the  varnish  very 
lightly,   to   smooth  it   evenly  throughout. 

Stand  each  joint  in  a  warm  place  out  of  the 
wind  or  any  draft  that  may  carry  dust.  When 
the  rod  is  finished,  joint  it  up  and  suspend  from 
a  hook  in  a  place  where  no  person  or  object 
will  touch  it.  It  will  dry  in  a  few  hours,  but 
should  not  be  handled  for  at  least  three  days. 
Drying  in  the  sun,  while  not  always  harmful, 
is  likely  to  expose  the  varnish  to  dust.  Choose 
a  dry  day  for  the  work. 

Clean  the  varnish  brush  carefully  with  soap 
and  hot  water,  and  when  it  is  dry,  put  it  away 
in  a  place  free  from  dust.  Keep  the  varnish 
bottle  tightly  corked,  and  expose  the  varnish 
as  little  as  possible  to  the  air. 

There  is  nothing  more  discouraging  to  the 
angler  than  a  failure  in  varnishing  a  rod.  And 
varnishing  is  a  delicate  operation.  One  may 
finish  the  rod  with  the  utmost  care,  polishing  the 


CLEANING  AND  VARNISHING  37 

wood  until  it  glistens,  winding  neatly,  and  then, 
when  it  is  almost  ready  for  use,  have  bad  luck 
in  varnishing,  and  feel  like  throwing  the  rod 
away,  for  apparently  it  is  ruined,  and  there  is 
nothing  left  to  do  but  remove  windings  and 
guides,  scrape  it  down  and  begin  the  work  all 
over  again. 

This,  however,  is  a  mistake,  for  the  fault 
may  be  remedied  if  one  is  careful.  Take  a 
bethabara  rod,  for  example.  This  wood  is 
more  or  less  oily.  You  may  finish  a  rod  with 
the  greatest  care,  wetting  the  wood  to  raise 
the  grain,  then  cutting  down  all  roughness, 
polishing  with  mild  abrasives,  then  with  fine 
bethabara  shavings,  and  finally  with  tissue  pa- 
per, until  the  wood  glistens  like  polished  brass; 
but  in  the  winding  the  natural  oil  from  your 
hands  will  coat  the  wood  evenly,  and  it  may  not 
occur  to  you  that  the  rod  is  in  bad  shape  for 
varnishing. 

At  best  bethabara  will  not  absorb  much  var- 
nish; therefore,  it  is  essential  that  the  varnish 
shall  dry  rapidly  and  not  crawl,  or  solidify  in 
uneven  patches,  leaving  other  spots  dry.  If 
you  varnish  the  rod  on  a  warm  day,  turning 
it  round  now  and  then,  so  that  it  will  dry  evenly 
in  the  open  air,  it  will  be  satisfactory;  but  if 
circumstances  force  you  to  varnish  it  hurriedly 


38  FISHING  TACKLE 

and  then  hang  it  up  close  to  a  wall,  it  may  dry 
on  one  side,  while  on  the  other,  nearest  the  wall, 
the  varnish  may  crawl.  This  may  happen  if  the 
temperature  is  low  or  the  air  damp. 

When  the  windings  are  finished  and  given 
two  coats  of  shellac,  to  preserve  the  color  of 
the  silk,  the  exposed  wood  may  be  rubbed  with 
a  strip  of  linen  or  silk  until  most  of  the  oil 
from  your  hands  has  been  removed.  After  this, 
do  not  touch  the  wood  with  your  hands  until 
after  the  rod  has  been  varnished.  Rub  the 
wood  lightly,  else  friction  will  damage  the  wind- 
ings. 

Possibly  you  may  forget  how  old  your  var- 
nish is,  or  neglect  to  have  the  rod  and  the  var- 
nish warm,  or  the  day  selected  may  turn  cold, 
with  the  result  that  the  varnish  may  dry  uneven- 
ly, remain  tacky,  or  even  crawl  in  places.  Old 
coach  varnish  may  be  thinned  by  adding  a  little 
turpentine,  then  let  it  stand  for  a  while  before 
using.  It  is  better,  however,  to  buy  fresh  var- 
nish, particularly  as  a  small  bottle  or  can  will 
furnish  enough  for  several  rods.  Always  ap- 
ply varnish  while  warm. 

If  the  varnish  does  crawl,  or  fail  to  dry  after 
several  days'  time,  so  that  all  of  your  work 
seems  to  have  been  wasted,  take  a  narrow 
strip  of  canvas,  which  has  a  rough  surface  and 


CLEANING  AND  VARNISHING  39 

will  not  shed  much  lint  while  you  are  rubbing, 
and  wetting  it  slightly  with  crude  oil,  work  the 
strip  between  the  windings  as  previously  des- 
cribed, but  never  lengthwise  of  the  joint/Very 
little  pressure  is  needed,  for  your  object  will  be 
to  warm  the  sticky  varnish  through  friction, 
spread  it  evenly  and  bind  it,  while  removing 
a  little  from  the  surface.  Passing  the  palm 
of  the  hand  over  the  joint  occasionally  will  en- 
able you  to  tell  when  the  work  is  finished,  which 
will  be  when  the  tacky  surface  gives  way  to  one 
that  is  smooth  and  fairly  hard.  Any  doubt 
will  be  dispelled  if  you  will  rub  the  joint  length- 
wise very  lightly  with  a  piece  of  linen  or  silk. 
If  this  sticks  in  places,  those  spots  must  be 
polished. 

Let  the  rod  stand  for  a  day,  then  pass  the 
dry  silk  strip  over  it  lightly,  and  if  all  parts 
are  hard,  polish  with  this  strip.  The  high 
gloss  will  be  gone,  but  if  a  thin  coat  of  varnish 
is  put  on  in  a  few  days,  this  should  bring  out 
all  of  the  beauty  of  the  grain  and  the  wind- 
ings, and  your  rod,  which  seemed  to  be  ruined, 
will  be  little  the  worse  for  this  heroic — and 
perhaps  unworkmanlike — treatment.  We  are 
not  all  experts,  and  few  of  those  who  love  to 
"  tinker  at  rod  building"  have  just  the  right 
sort  of  workshops  and  tools,  but  a  little  horse 


40  FISHING  TACKLE 

sense  has  saved  more  valuable  property  than  a 
fishing  rod. 

Now  and  then  the  claim  is  made  that  vase- 
line is  a  preservative  that  should  be  used  on 
the  rod  before  it  is  put  away  for  the  winter. 
Vaseline  would  very  likely  keep  out  damp- 
ness, but  it  is  very  penetrating,  and  if  there  are 
cracks  in  the  varnish,  the  vaseline  would  work 
into  them,  and  discolor  windings  as  well.  It 
seems  to  me  that  crude  petroleum  is  a  better 
preservative,  but  if  it  is  used  it  should  be 
completely  removed  before  varnishing.  Ver- 
digris will  form  on  brass  coated  with  vase- 
line, and  the  same  thing  applies,  though  in  a 
lesser  degree,  to  German  silver,  hence  this  seems 
to  me  to  be  another  argument  against  the  use 
or  vaseline  on  rods. 

Lard  oil  should  be  better.  I  have  never  used 
it  to  prevent  fishing  rod  ferrules  from  sticking, 
but  have  found  it  peculiarly  effective  when  ap- 
plied to  the  friction  joints  of  canoe  paddles  and 
tent  poles,  and  see  no  reason  why  it  should 
not  work  well  on  fishing  rods.  It  is  a  clean 
oil,  and  a  very  little  of  it  goes  a  long  way. 
Common  lubricating  oil,  and  vaseline  as  well, 
pick  up  grit,  and  the  combination  is  likely  to 
injure  ferrules.  All  of  the  lubricating  that  a 
good  ferrule  needs  is  to  wipe  it  clean,  then  rub 
it  over  youf  hair  if  it  fits  too  snugly. 


CHAPTER  V 

REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE 

GENERALLY  speaking,  there  are  but 
two  kinds  of  reel  used  in  fresh  water 
fishing:  (i)  the  single-action  reel  for 
fly-rods,  and  (2)  the  multiplying  reel  for  bait 


(Courtesy  of  Wm.  Mills  &  Son.) 
Fig.  1. — Rubber  and  German  Silver  Single  Action  Reel. 

41 


42 


FISHING  TACKLE 


(Courtesy  of  Wm.  Mills  &  Son.) 
Fig.  2. — Light  Click  Reel. 

In  fishing  with  the  fly-rod  the  reel  is  em- 
ployed mainly  in  playing  a  fish  and  in  shorten- 
ing line.  In  casting  the  fly  or  lure  the  actual 
length  of  line  is  controlled  by  the  left  hand. 
With  it  the  line  is  pulled  off  the  reel  or  stripped 
in,  to  be  held  in  one  or  more  coils,  and  to  be 
wound  up  on  the  reel  when  it  is  necessary  to 
shorten  line.  But  when  a  fish  is  hooked  the 
reel  comes  into  play  when  there  is  too  much 
line  out  to  control  it  by  rod  manipulation  alone. 

This  being  true,  there  are  only  a  few  things 
to  consider  in  selecting  a  reel.  It  should  bal- 
ance nicely  on  the  rod  and  be  no  larger  than  is 
necessary  to  hold  the  line.  Weight  is  a  mat- 
ter each  angler  must  decide  for  himself.  One 
prefers  a  fairly  heavy  reel,  claiming  that  it 
balances  the  rod;  another  selects  a  light  reel 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    43 

because  it  does  not  place  too  much  weight  be- 
low the  hand. 

A  single-action  reel  need  not  be  expensive. 
The  parts  should  be  well  made  and  nicely  fit- 
ted, the  click  one  that  will  not  get  out  of  order 
quickly,  and  with  a  good  strong  spring.  The 
click  must  be  just  strong  enough  to  prevent  the 
spool  from  turning  when  casts  of  ordinary 
length  are  made  without  holding  the  line 
with  either  hand.  The  reels  illustrated  in  Figs. 
I  and  2  are  typical  of  the  moderate  priced 
reels  used  by  trout  fishermen.  Three  inches  is 
the  diameter  of  most  click  reels  on  which  thirty 
yards  of  double  tapered  E  line  are  used,  and 
they  will  carry  the  same  length  of  D  line  if  it 
be  wound  on  evenly.  There  is  no  need  of  a 
drag  on  a  fly  reel. 

The  English  reels  are  nearly  all  heavy  affairs, 
but  they  are  beautifully  made  and  compact. 
Nearly  all  are  so  made  that  by  removing  one 
screw  the  spool  may  be  taken  out,  and  instead 
of  the  thin  axle — which  ruins  any  line  left  on  it 
for  any  length  of  time, — there  is  a  drum  of 
good  size.  The  dry-fly  reel  shown  in  Fig.  3 
is  of  this  type.  It  is  narrow  but  of  goodly  dia- 
meter, and  light,  as  the  material  is  an  aluminum 
alloy — aluminum  alone  being  too  soft  for  reels. 

Whatever  reel  is  employed,  do  not  leave  a 


44  FISHING  TACKLE 


(Courtesy  of  Wm.  Mills  &  Son.) 
Fig.   3. — Narrow  Dry-Fly  Reel. 

good  line  on  it,  but  wind  the  line  on  one  of  the 
large  "  reels  "  used  by  tournament  casters,  il- 
lustrated in  Fig.  30;  or  wind  it  on  to  a  line 
dryer. 

Salmon  reels  are  merely  larger  editions  of 
trout  reels,  but  as  they  are  roughly  handled  at 
times,  strength  is  necessary,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose a  high-grade  reel  is  the  best. 

The  bait-casting  reel  is  a  machine  in  miniature 
and  is  a  wonderful  one  at  that.  It  must  be 
light  and  small,  run  almost  as  freely  as  a  top, 
yet  withstand  tremendous  strains  and  sudden 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    45 

shocks.  Nowhere  else  are  such  perfect  reels 
made  as  in  the  United  States,  and  Kentucky  has 
produced  the  two  that  are  types.  For  nearly 
a  century  the  Milam  and  the  Meek  reels  have 
been  on  the  market,  and  the  first  reels  these 
firms  made  are  almost  identical  with  the  mod- 
ern ones. 


Fig.  4.— Milam  No.  2  Quadruple  Multiplying  Reel.  Exact 
Size. 

At  a  national  tournament  a  few  years  ago, 
the  winner  of  the  accuracy  bait-casting  event 
used  a  tiny  No.  I  reel  that  had  been  used  by 
the  owner  for  many  years,  and  by  his  father 
before  him;  more  than  fifty  years  in  all,  surely. 
And  that  reel  is  as  good  to-day  as  a  new  one 
and  differs  from  the  present-day  type  only  in 


46 


FISHING  TACKLE 


that  it  has  a  crank  handle  instead  of  a  balanced 
handle. 


Fig.  5.— Meek  No.  2  Reel.  Three- fourths  Actual  Size. 
One  improvement  that  has  been  made  in  re- 
cent years  is  in  the  use  of  spiral  gears  instead 
of  the  old  straight  gears.  Spiral  gears  mesh 
more  smoothly,  and  the  wear  is  more  uniform, 
while  greater  strength  is  attained,  as  a  greater 
bearing  surface  between  pinion  and  gear  is  had. 
Another  improvement  is  the  screw-off  cap  over 
each  end  of  the  axle.  This  makes  it  possible 
to  oil  these  main  bearings  without  taking  the 
reel  apart.  Garnets  are  fitted  in  these  bearings 
if  desired,  insuring  longer  wear  than  is  pos- 
sible with  the  customary  steel  bearings. 

A  satisfactory  fishing  reel  may  be  had  for  $5 
or  a  little  less,  but  it  is  good  economy  to  pay  $15 
for  a  far  better  reel,  and  if  you  can  afford  the 
very  best,  $25  to  $30.  Such  a  reel  will  out- 
last your  fishing  days,  and  always  be  depend- 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    47 

able.  The  old-time  free  running  reel  has  no 
superior;  by  "  free  running  "  is  meant  that  there 
is  no  graduated  device  for  retarding  the  speed 
of  the  spool.  Free-spool  reels  are  of  another 
class,  in  which  there  is  a  device  to  throw  the 
gears  out  of  mesh  during  a  cast,  the  handle  re- 
maining at  rest,  the  gears  engaging  while  the 
line  is  being  wound  in.  They  are  excellent  reels, 
but  considerable  practice  is  necessary  to  cast 
without  backlashing,  as  the  spool-action  is  very 
rapid. 


Fig.  6. — Meek  No.  3  Blue  Grass  Reel. 
If  you  ask  a  manufacturer  how  to  take  one 
of  his  reels  apart  for  cleaning,  he  will  probably 
tell  you  not  to  attempt  this  at  all,  as  only  "  one 
skilled  in  the  art,"  as  inventors  say,  can  adjust 
a  reel  properly.  This  is  of  course  true  of  some 
reels  in  the  hands  of  careless  persons,  but  one 
who  possesses  ordinary  skill  may  easily  take 


48  FISHING  TACKLE 

apart,  clean,  oil,  and  reassemble  a  reel  without 
injuring  it  in  the  least.  There  is  no  other  course 
left  open  to  one  who  happens  to  be  far  from 
repair  shops  when  his  reel  needs  attention,  and 
the  sooner  he  learns  how  to  care  for  it  himself, 
the  better  off  will  he  be. 

If  your  reel  has  oil-caps,  by  removing  these 
and  the  handle,  you  can  oil  the  end  bearings,  the 
pinion,  and  the  handle  and  gear-post  without 
disturbing  the  adjustment  of  the  parts.  This 
is  an  immense  advantage,  but  all  bearings  should 
be  cleaned  before  oiling. 

In  reels  that  have  capped  face  plates  this  is 
a  simple  matter,  as  the  screws  merely  hold  the 
cap  in  place  and  exert  uniform  pressure  on  the 
spindle  ends,  and  one  may  take  out  the  gear, 
clean  its  post  and  teeth,  the  pinion  and  all  bear- 
ings, replace  the  cap  by  means  of  three  or  four 
screws,  none  of  which  enter  the  pillars.  All 
bearings  save  one  may  be  cleaned  without  dis- 
turbing the  adjustment  of  the  frame.  In  order 
to  get  at  this  one,  the  face  plate  of  some  but  not 
all  reels  must  be  removed  and  the  spool  taken 
out.  Some  reels  are  easy  to  readjust  because 
the  front  plate  is  held  by  only  one,  or  at  most 
four  screws;  but  those  that  have  a  screw  in 
each  one  of  the  five  pillars  must  be  readjusted 
with  the  utmost  care,  and  patience  is  necessary, 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    49 

as  you  must  set  the  screws,  test  it,  and  perhaps 
repeat  this  two  or  three  times  before  all  is 
well. 

The  cap  screws  should  be  turned  down  easily 
and  the  spool  tried,  to  see  if  there  is  any  play 
longitudinally.  Some  reels  require  a  little  play, 
while  others  do  not. 

Before  touching  a  screw  try  the  spool  and 
ascertain  how  much  play  it  has.  Then  lay  your 
watch  in  front  of  you,  and  holding  the  reel  in  the 
left  hand  with  the  handle  up,  so  that  the  handle 
and  gears  will  revolve  horizontally,  grasp  the 
handle  with  the  thumb  and  first  two  fingers  of 
the  right  hand,  the  second  finger  on  the  handle- 
knob,  and  spin  the  reel  smartly  as  the  second 
hand  of  your  watch  passes  a  certain  point,  not- 
ing how  long  it  takes  for  the  handle  to  lose  all 
motion.  Try  this  three  or  four  times  until  you 
are  certain  that  the  spool  will  spin  just  so  long 
each  time.  If  there  is  a  line  on  the  reel,  tuck 
its  ends  under  with  a  toothpick,  to  prevent  it 
from  striking  the  pillars  and  retarding  the 
spool. 

In  turning  the  cap  screws  down,  test  the  spool 
for  play  and  speed,  bearing  in  mind  that  since 
cleaning  and  oiling  all  bearings  it  should  spin 
several  seconds  longer  than  when  foul  with 
gummed  oil — that  is,  unless  you  have  put  too 


50  FISHING  TACKLE 

much  oil  on  gear  and  pinion,  in  which  case  the 
reel  may  be  out  of  commission  until  the  sur- 
plus oil  is  removed.  If  ten  seconds  was  the 
time  of  spinning  while  dirty,  fourteen  or  fifteen 
seconds  should  be  about  right  for  the  clean 
spool,  and  if  it  falls  below  this,  tighten  the 
screws  a  trifle  more  and  try  again  for  time  and 
play.  If  all  screws  are  tightened  uniformly, 
a  few  trials  will  show  you  when  to  stop,  and  if 
these  directions  are  religiously  followed,  the 
reel  should  be  in  perfect  order. 

It  is  important  that  a  good  screw-driver  and 
the  best  reel  oil  be  used.  It  is  also  advisable 
to  examine  all  bearings,  after  cleaning,  with  a 
microscope,  at  the  same  time  removing  all  parti- 
cles of  grit  or  dust  with  the  end  of  a  toothpick. 
The  pinion  in  a  good  reel  is  made  from  tool 
steel,  and  the  gear  from  bronze  or  hard  brass, 
but  a  tiny  speck  of  grit  is  a  bad  thing  for  either 
one. 

All  tests  should  be  made  while  the  spool  of 
the  reel  is  filled  with  the  line  that  you  are  ac- 
customed to  using  in  fishing  practice.  Exerting 
equal  force,  the  spool  will  spin  one-fourth  to 
one-third  longer  when  filled  with  line  than 
when  empty. 

In  these  remarks  quadruple  multiplying  reels 
are  referred  to,  for  the  reason  that  nearly  all  of 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    51 

the  small  fishing  and  all  of  the  tournament 
reels  are  geared  thus.  No  properly  made  quad- 
ruple reel  has  four  times  as  many  teeth  in  the 
gear  as  in  the  pinion.  Generally  there  are  three 
or  four  teeth  less  in  the  gear,  the  number  de- 
pending largely  on  the  diameter  decided  on  for 
that  wheel  as  the  best  when  the  diameter  of 
plates,  length  of  spool  and  handle,  and  general 
purpose  of  reel  are  taken  into  consideration. 
One  good  reason  for  the  odd  number  of  teeth 
in  the  large  gear  is  that  every  tooth  in  the  pinion 
bears  on  every  one  in  the  gear,  always  chang- 
ing, and  in  this  way  the  wear  is  equalized  and 
the  meshing  is  perfect  at  all  points  in  every 
revolution. 

Every  tooth  added  to  the  large  gear  de- 
creases the  strength  and  winding  power  of  the 
mechanism,  and  the  logical  conclusion  is  that 
the  double  multiplier  is  best  for  reels  of  large 
size,  where  power  is  preferred  to  speed  in  de- 
livering and  recovering  line.  This  is  illustrated 
in  eighty-yard  quadruple  reels  used  for  bass 
fishing  and  tournament  casting.  The  spool  of 
the  fishing  reel  may  be  iH  inches  in  length  and 
J^  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  balance  handle 
2 %  or  2j4  inches  in  length.  The  spool  of  the 
tournament  reel  may  be  1^4  inches  long,  i^ 
inches  in  diameter,  very  thin  and  light,  and  the 


52  FISHING  TACKLE 

handle  only  i]4  inches  long.  The  latter  will 
spool  thin  line  beautifully  and  deliver  it  rapidly, 
but  if  used  in  fishing  it  will  recover  line  very 
slowly  when  a  two-pound  bass  is  tugging  at  the 
hook,  the  small  spool  and  the  short  handle  fur- 
nishing very  little  leverage. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  fishing  reel  will 
handle  large  bass  easily,  but  when  used  in 
tournament  casting,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
handle  is  too  long  and  the  spool  too  narrow  and 
deep  for  nice,  even  spooling  and  delivery.  The 
reel  that  is  a  modification  of  both  types  re- 
ferred to  will  give  fair  satisfaction  at  the 
tournament  and  on  the  lake,  and  for  the  man  of 
one  outfit  this  is  the  reel  to  own. 

Some  anglers  prefer  to  let  German  silver 
reels  tarnish — as  they  will  in  fresh  water  im- 
pregnated with  mineral  substances,  and  from 
contact  with  one's  hands — but  others  do  not.  It 
is  true  that  this  tarnishing  takes  the  place  of  the 
glitter  of  the  freshly  buffed  reel,  although  Ger- 
man silver  glistens  far  less  than  the  nickle  of 
cheap  reels;  but  it  is  one  thing  to  let  the  reel 
tarnish  slightly,  and  quite  another  to  permit 
dust  and  gummed  oil  to  accumulate  until  the  use- 
fulness of  the  reel  is  affected.  The  reel  should 
be  cleaned  thoroughly  at  least  once  each  sea- 
son, preferably  in  the  winter. 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    53 

The  easiest  way  to  polish  the  frame  is  with 
a  buffer,  but  chamois  skin  and  tripoli  will  re- 
move all  harmful  dirt  from  smooth  surfaces, 
while  the  angles  may  be  reached  by  folding  the 
leather  over  a  sliver  of  soft  pine  and  rubbing 
with  this.  The  bearings  must  not  be  touched 
with  any  abrasive  or  polishing  substance.  They 
should  be  cleaned  thoroughly  with  benzine — but 
do  not  light  your  pipe  during  this  operation. 
An  old  soft  toothbrush  and  benzine  should  be 
used  on  pinion,  gear,  and  all  bearings,  and  in 
order  to  be  sure  that  the  parts  are  cleared  from 
gummed  oil,  examine  them  when  they  are  dry 
under  a  microscope. 

This  inspection  should  be  minute.  A  good 
reel  is  to  a  certain  extent  a  delicate  machine, 
and  although  you  may  not  remember  it,  it  may 
be  that  you  dropped  rod  and  reel  at  some  time 
last  summer  while  fishing  and  damaged  the 
gears.  Perhaps  you  have  wondered  why  its 
song  has  a  harsh  note,  but  still  it  seems  to  be  all 
right.  If  any  of  the  bearings  show  wear  in 
places  where  they  should  be  smooth,  or  if  the 
teeth  of  pinion  or  gear  have  any  rough  spots — 
under  the  glass  these  teeth  resemble  those  in 
a  huge  saw — send  the  reel  post  haste  to  its 
maker.  He  alone  can  put  it  to  rights.  Other- 
wise, when  all  the  parts  are  absolutely  clean, 


54  FISHING  TACKLE 

put  the  reel  together  again,  using  the  second 
hand  of  your  watch  to  determine  its  correct  ad- 
justment, as  previously  described.  Every  reel 
should  be  kept  in  a  chamois  bag  or  in  one  of 
the  chamois-lined  sole  leather  cases.  Then  put 
it  away  in  the  tackle-box,  making  a  mental  note 
to  oil  it  slightly  the  night  before  you  go  away 
on  your  first  fishing  trip  next  spring. 

Beginners  may  fail  to  notice  an  important 
point  in  connection  with  the  timing  of  the  reel 
for  adjustment  by  the  watch.  The  present-day 
quadruple  multiplying  reels — most  of  them,  at 
least — will  spin  longer  when  the  spool  is  hori- 
zontal than  otherwise,  but  this  is  not  a  fair 
test,  as  in  casting  with  the  short  rod  the  hand 
is  turned  to  the  left — ( i )  to  insure  the  line 
running  through  the  guides  and  top  without 
fouling  the  rod;  and  (2)  because  there  is  less 
friction  on  the  bearings  of  the  reel  when  it  is 
held  handle  up  (Fig.  7).  In  timing  his  reel  the 
novice  will  naturally  turn  the  balance  handle 
from  left  to  right,  and  if  it  spins  say  twenty- 
one  seconds,  he  will  put  that  down  as  its  time 
and  never  stop  to  consider  the  fact  that  he  is 
turning  it  backward,  or  in  the  direction  the 
handle  turns  when  the  spool  is  taking  up  the 
line — where  smoothness  and  speed  do  not  so 
much  count. 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    55 

Another  thing:  if  his  reel  has  spiral  gears, 
as  many  of  the  best  reels  have,  its  spool  may 
not  revolve  so  freely  in  recovering  as  in  deliver- 
ing, therefore  one  will  not  gain  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  its  capabilities  for  casting  unless  he 
spins  it  backward.  This  is  more  difficult  to  do 
with  thumb  and  finger  because  of  the  form  of 
the  balance  handle. 

A  better  plan,  and  one  giving  more  accurate 
results  is  this:  Take  a  piece  of  small  cord  and 
wax  one  end.  Lay  this  on  the  spindle  of  the 
spool  and  wind  over  it,  just  as  you  would  with 
a  casting  line,  always  winding  a  given  length  of 
cord,  say  twelve  inches.  Hold  the  reel  firmly 
in  one  hand,  handle  at  the  top,  and  when  the 
second  hand  of  your  watch  is  over  a  given 
point,  pull  the  cord  evenly  with  the  other  hand 
until  it  comes  away  from  the  spindle — just  as  a 
boy  spins  a  top.  Pull  steadily,  exerting  not  much 
more  force  than  would  the  half-ounce  weight 
in  a  cast.  Your  reel  will  spin  as  it  does  in  cast- 
ing, and  the  method  insures  steadiness  and 
uniform  results,  as  you  will  find  after  a  few 
trials. 

If  the  reel  is  made  of  hard  rubber  with  bronze 
or  brass  parts,  on  taking  it  apart  you  may  find 
verdigris  under  and  in  the  teeth  of  the  gear, 
and  this,  as  well  as  the  gummed  oil,  must  be 


56  FISHING  TACKLE 

cleared  out.  A  good  reel  is  a  constant  source 
of  pride  to  its  owner,  if  he  appreciates  it,  and 
while  few  other  mechanical  "  contrivances  "  are 
called  upon  to  and  do  withstand  so  many  severe 
shocks  and  strains,  a  little  grit  in  its  vitals 
will  cause  as  much  trouble  to  it  as  a  small  peb- 
ble in  your  shoe  will  to  you.  Neither  one  is 
fatal,  but  may  have  a  bad  effect  in  time. 

The  gears  and  pinions  of  various  reels  differ 
slightly.  Some  mesh  closely,  the  leaves  of  the 
pinion  fitting  rather  tightly  in  the  teeth  of  the 
gear.  These  require  rather  thin  oil,  but  do 
not  use  any  of  the  thin  bicycle  oils,  some  of 
which  contain  substances  of  no  value  to  reels. 
Ask  your  dealer  for  the  best  reel  oil,  or  obtain 
a  bottle  of  oil  from  a  watchmaker.  If  properly 
used,  an  ounce  of  reel  oil  will  last  several  sea- 
sons. It  must  be  applied  sparingly,  and  only 
on  clean  parts.  Generally,  but  not  invariably, 
the  larger  the  reel  the  heavier  may  the  oil  be, 
and  some  salt  water  reels  work  well  if  petro- 
leum jelly  or  graphite  is  applied  to  the  gears, 
though  nothing  but  the  best  oil  should  be  put 
on  smooth  bearings. 

If,  when  the  oil  is  applied,  the  reel  seems  to 
be  jammed  and  will  not  spin  freely,  it  is  a  good 
sign  that  the  gears  are  gummed  up,  or  that  too 
much  or  too  heavy  oil  has  been  applied.  Clean 


REELS  AND  THEIR  CARE    57 

thoroughly  and  try  again  with  less  oil.  It  is 
possible  to  completely  clog  the  mechanism  of 
a  fine  reel  with  oil,  and  reels  are  often  sent 
back  to  their  makers  as  "  no  good,"  when  the 
only  fault  is  that  too  much  oil  has  been  put 
in  them.  In  a  quadruple  reel  of  high  grade, 
whose  gears  mesh  closely,  a  drop  too  much 
may  completely  stop  the  turning  of  the  parts. 


CHAPTER  VI 

CORK  DRUMS  FOR  REELS 

IT  is  customary  for  anglers  to  use  a  reel 
larger  than  they  need,  and  to  fill  the  spool 
one-third  to  one-half  full  of  old  or  com- 
mon line,  then  wind  on  the  line  that  is  to  be 
used  in  fishing.  When  it  is  ready  to  use,  the 
spool  is  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  filled,  en- 
abling one  to  thumb  it  more  readily,  and  as  its 
size  increases  through  wetting,  one  turn  of  the 
spool  releases  or  recovers  much  more  line 
than  if  the  winding  of  the  good  line  were  begun 
on  the  empty  spool. 

There  are  some  objections  to  this  plan,  par- 
ticularly as  applied  to  the  small  long-spool 
reels  used  in  bait-casting  contests  and  in  fishing. 
If  the  dummy  is  composed  of  coarse  line,  it  is 
difficult  to  spool  it  evenly,  leaving  an  uneven 
surface  on  which  the  fine  casting  line  must  be 
wound.  If  common  thread  is  used  for  a  dum- 
my, it  is  difficulty  to  wind  it  so  that  it  will  be 
hard  and  firm.  This  must  be  done  in  order  to 
attain  the  best  results,  as  a  spongy  foundation 
for  the  gossamer-like  casting  line  will  increase 

58 


CORK  DRUMS  FOR  REELS  59 

the  tendency  toward  backlashing,  and  it  will  lose 
its  cylindrical  form  after  repeated  casting, 
causing  one's  thumb  to  press  hard  at  one  place 
and  skip  at  another.  After  use  the  silk  casting 
line  must  be  wound  on  a  dryer  or  coiled  on  a 
smooth  surface  until  thoroughly  dry,  and  as 
such  a  line  is  generally  one  hundred  yards  or 
more  in  length,  it  is  a  nuisance  to  take  off  the 
dummy,  too,  but  as  it  gets  wet  and  will  not 
dry  on  the  reel,  off  it  comes  or  it  would  ruin 
the  silk  line. 

If  you  use  a  long-spool  reel  in  casting,  with 
a  line  thinner  than  H  size,  you  will  need  a  dum- 
my i  or  ij^  inches  in  diameter.  A  good  plan 
is  to  fit  cork  disks  on  the  spool.  These  can  be 
obtained  at  cork  stores.  Either  vaseline  bot- 
tle corks  or  rod  grasp  corks  will  serve.  Select 
four  perfect  corks,  and  with  an  old  ferrule 
cut  holes  through  the  exact  center  of  each  one, 
concaving  the  ends  of  two,  so  that  they  will 
fit  the  convex  spool  ends.  Take  the  spool  out 
of  the  reel  while  fitting  corks.  Split  all  of  the 
corks  from  the  central  holes  to  the  rim,  using 
a  very  thin  sharp  knife  blade. 

Obviously  the  hole  in  each  cork  must  be  a 
trifle  larger  than  the  spindle  of  the  spool,  over 
which  the  end  corks  are  to  be  fitted  first.  After 
fitting  the  end  corks,  slip  the  third  one  into 
place,  and  while  there  is  room,  coat  each  cork 


60  FISHING  TACKLE 

very  slightly  with  shellac.  Split  the  fourth  cork 
so  that  it  will  fill  the  remaining  space  snugly 
and  slip  it  on,  shellacking  the  slit  in  each  cork 
and  turning  all  so  that  no  two  slits  come  op- 
posite each  other.  Wind  a  bit  of  thread  over 
all  to  hold  them  in  place  until  dry,  then  remove 
the  thread  and  shave  off  all  uneven  places. 

Smoothing  the  corks  to  perfect  form  should 
be  done  in  a  lathe  with  a  fine  file,  but  if  a  lathe 
is  not  at  hand,  assemble  the  reel  and  fasten  it 
lightly  in  a  vise,  the  jaws  of  which  are  covered 
with  cloth  to  protect  the  reel-yoke.  Turn  the 
handle  with  one  hand  and  hold  the  file  with 
the  other,  being  careful  that  it  does  not  touch 
the  ends  of  the  spool.  Exert  the  least  possible 
pressure  in  grinding  the  cork  drum  to  perfect 
form,  blowing  the  cork  dust  away  from  the 
reel  frequently. 

Measure  the  diameter  of  the  drum,  and  when 
it  is  correct,  wind  the  entire  drum  with  thread, 
being  as  careful  as  if  you  were  winding  a  fine 
rod.  Pull  both  ends  of  the  thread  under  with 
a  separate  loop,  and  leave  the  second  one  to  tie 
the  casting  line  to.  Coat  this  winding  twice 
with  shellac,  which  will  bind  it  and  preserve  the 
shape  of  the  drum.  Otherwise  it  may  bulge 
in  places.  When  the  shellac  is  dry,  clean  the 
reel  and  wind  the  casting  line  on  it.  This  should 


CORK  DRUMS  FOR  REELS  61 

fill  the  spool  three-fourths,  allowing  for  a  slight 
increase  when  the  line  is  wet.  The  cork  being 
extremely  light,  the  weight  of  the  wet  line  is 
placed  further  away  from  the  axis  of  the  spool, 
giving  the  reel  increased  efficiency  in  casting. 

For  a  reel  the  diameter  of  which  is  two 
inches  and  the  length  of  the  spool  I J4  inches, 
the  cork  dummy  should  be  i  or  I  1/16  inches 
in  diameter  for  a  tournament  line,  and  this 
should  be  sufficient  for  the  fishing  reel,  which 
requires  less  diameter  of  wound  line  than  does 
the  tournament  line. 

The  simplest  way  to  determine  the  diameter 
for  the  cork  dummy  is  this :  wind  the  fine  casting 
line  on  the  bare  spindle,  and  on  this  wind  com- 
mon thread  until  the  spool  is  three-fourthsi 
filled.  Cut  the  thread  and  remove  it  from  the 
reel;  remove  the  casting  line  and  replace  the 
thread  on  the  reel.  Measure  its  mean  dia- 
meter, which  will  be  correct  for  the  dummy. 

Generally  speaking,  one  can  safely  place 
more  line  on  a  tournament  than  on  a  fishing  reel, 
as  he  watches  the  line  carefully  while  spooling 
it  in  tournament  work,  but  may  not  do  so  while 
playing  a  fish,  and  if  he  is  careless  the  line  may 
foul  the  pillars  and  a  sudden  jerk  by  the  fish 
may  break  the  line. 

If  there  are  to  be  changes  in  lines,  the  dia- 


62  FISHING  TACKLE 

meter  of  the  cork  should  be  reduced  slightly, 
and  a  dummy  line  employed  to  make  up  the  re- 
required  diameter  when  the  reel  is  full.  The 
cork  is  firm  and  even  but  not  hard,  and  the  de- 
vice is  a  useful  one.  Nearly  all  tournament 
casters  employ  cork  dummies,  and  a  few  reels 
have  been  made  with  metal  drums,  which  are 
of  course  more  substantial  than  cork.  It  is  a 
pity  that  more  standard  reels  are  not  made 
with  metal  drums. 


CHAPTER  VII 

LEADERS,   GUT,  AND  EYED  FLIES 

THE  production  of  silkworm  gut  has  not 
kept  pace  with  the  demand,  which  has 
increased  enormously  during  the  last 
quarter  century. 

The  best  silkworm  gut  comes  from  Spain, 
the  market  being  practically  controlled  by 
British  firms.  The  high  price  of  gut  has  created 
a  demand  for  substitutes,  but  while  there  are 
several  of  these,  as  a  general  thing  they  are  un- 
satisfactory. There  is  no  doubt  that  a  good 
substitute  will  be  produced  in  time,  but  in  order 
to  be  a  success  it  must  be  less  flabby  and  soft, 
when  wet,  than  the  present  substitutes.  These 
are  very  strong,  but  after  a  little  soaking  they 
become  stringy  and  soft,  and  are  of  little  value 
for  fly  casting.  The  one  advantage  they  pos- 
sess is  that  they  are  made  without  knots.  A 
tapered  leader  can  be  made  of  this  stuff  with 
only  two  or  three  knots. 

As  silkworm  gut  is  drawn,  the  larger  or  sal- 
63 


64  FISHING  TACKLE 

mon  sizes  average  nine  or  ten  inches  in  length, 
while  the  bass  sizes  are  twelve  to  fourteen  inches 
long,  and  the  trout  sizes  up  to  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches.  With  every  strand  there  is  con- 
siderable waste.  They  are  put  up  ioo  in  a 
hank,  and  are  generally  sold  by  the  trade  in 
this  shape,  though  retailers  sometimes  put  them 
up  in  lots  of  twenty-five,  so  that  anglers  who 
make  their  own  leaders  can  obtain  an  assort- 
ment of  three  or  four  sizes — enough  to  make 
several  tapered  leaders — without  purchasing 
several  hanks  of  ioo  strands  each. 

In  recent  years  the  demand  for  bleached 
and  stained  gut  has  decreased  steadily.  Per- 
haps gut  was  at  first  bleached  because  in  that 
shape  it  shows  to  better  advantage  than  the 
natural  article.  The  staining  was  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rendering  it  less  conspicuous  in  the 
water,  but  experience  has  proved  that  neutral 
colors  are  not  of  so  much  importance  as  they 
were  at  one  time  popularly  believed  to  be; 
witness  the  various  lines,  in  which  white  and 
black  and  showy  colors  are  all  successfully  used 
in  taking  fish. 

Bleaching  injures  the  gut.  Staining  does  or 
does  not;  it  depends  on  the  agent  employed. 
Soaking  in  cold  tea,  rubbing  with  dock  leaves, 
and  a  number  of  other  harmless  things  have 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES    65 

long  been  used  in  dulling  the  gloss  of  new  gut 
without  injuring  it. 

The  names  given  the  various  sizes  of  Spanish 
silkworm  gut,  and  their  calibers,  in  thousandths 
of  an  inch,  follow: 

Royal 020  022 

Imperial 019  020 

Marana  II 016  017 

Padron  1 014  016 

Padron  II 013  015 

Regular 013  014 

Drawn  gut on  and  less. 

Leaders  commonly  used  for  trout  fishing  are 
not  expensive,  as  they  are  small  in  size  and 
composed  of  the  longest  strands;  but  tapered 
leaders,  now  used  for  dry-fly  fishing,  cost  more. 
The  tapered  salmon  leaders,  which  are  made  up 
from  three  or  four  of  the  heaviest  sizes  of 
gut,  retail  at  $3  to  $6  each.  In  a  nine-foot 
leader  of  this  sort  there  are  many  short  strands, 
and  these  short  strands  must  be  selected  with  the 
greatest  care,  because  so  many  more  of  them 
are  imperfect  than  in  the  smaller  sizes. 

Salmon  leaders  are  sometimes  made  with 
the  upper  third  of  three  strands  of  small  gut, 
twisted  hard;  the  middle  of  two  strands, 
twisted;  and  the  point  of  medium  weight  single 
gut.  In  the  twisted  gut  the  ends  are  sometimes 
knotted  separately,  or  the  strands  are  spliced, 
while  the   double   gut  strands   are  knotted  in 


66  FISHING  TACKLE 

pairs.  Nice  tapers  are  obtained  in  this  way,  but 
after  soaking  the  twisted  gut  swells  more  than 
the  single  gut,  and  is  not  so  smooth  and  wiry, 
though  strong. 

In  olden  times  horsehair  leaders  were  much 
used,  and  are  still  employed  to  some  extent  in 
England.  The  hairs  from  the  tail  of  a  gray 
stallion  were  said  to  be  the  best,  while  those 
from  a  mare's  tail  were  regarded  as  useless. 

In  tournament  fly-casting  for  distance  the 
finest  grade  leaders  are  used,  mainly  in  salmon 
sizes.  In  the  salmon  events  combination 
leaders  are  allowed,  but  for  all  single-hand  rods 
the  leaders  must  be  of  single  gut.  The  general 
rule  observed  in  the  United  States  is  that  every 
tournament  leader  must  be  at  least  six  feet  in 
length,  and  it  cannot  exceed  the  length  of  the 
rod  used  by  more  than  two  feet.  In  Australia, 
where  tournament  casting  is  practiced  by  an 
enthusiastic  group  of  Sydney  trout  fishermen, 
leaders  of  twenty  and  thirty  feet  are  used,  and 
with  their  strong,  dry  winds,  this  in  part  ac- 
counts for  the  great  distances  they  have  ac- 
complished in  casting  with  heavy  single-hand 
rods. 

Formerly  leaders  of  fifteen  and  eighteen  feet 
were  used  here  in  distance  casting,  but  since 
the  casters  have  all  adopted  lines  with  very  long 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES    67 

tapers,  leaders  average  rather  less  than  the 
length  of  the  rods.  Those  used  with  all  rods 
are  much  alike.  They  taper  from  the  heaviest 
salmon  size  down  to  heavy  trout  size,  and  are 
selected  with  great  care,  since  to  whip  off  a  fly 
means  the  loss  of  that  cast  and  an  important 
part  of  the  time  alloted  the  caster.  For  this  use 
it  is  better  to  use  a  heavy  level  leader  than  to 
have  the  point  too  fine.  In  the  accuracy  wet- 
fly  contests,  in  which  a  short  leader  is  an  ad- 
vantage, the  minimum  limit  of  six  feet  is  stand- 
ard. In  the  dry-fly  accuracy  events  medium 
to  light  weight  leaders  are  used,  generally  just 
over  six  feet  in  length,  and  tapered. 

The  new  dry-fly  leaders — for  fishing — are 
generally  7^  feet  long;  tapered  from  medium 
to  very  fine  trout  gut,  with  one  loop,  at  the  line 
end.  As  one  fly  only  is  employed  in  this  branch 
of  trout  fishing,  the  dropper  loops  tied  in  wet- 
fly  leaders  are  objectionable. 

The  old-time  leaders  were  three,  six,  and  nine 
feet  in  length.  But  in  place  of  the  six  and 
seven  ounce  rods  used  with  them,  four-and- 
three-quarter  ounce  tournament  rods  nine  feet 
in  length  are  now  much  used  in  dry-fly  fishing. 
These  rods  are  rather  stiff  and  very  powerful, 
hence  in  order  to  develop  the  best  qualities  of 
the  rod,  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  heavy  double 


68  FISHING  TACKLE 

tapered  line.  Size  F,  the  old  favorite,  is  giving 
way  to  E,  and  the  D  size  is  also  much  used. 

In  these  lines  the  taper  is  short,  12  feet  or 
less.  Thus  it  will  be  understood  that  a  9-foot 
taper  and  a  7^-foot  leader,  propelled  by  a 
fairly  heavy  line  on  a  stiff  rod,  may  be  depend- 
ed on  in  all  sorts  of  weather  for  accurate  casts 
of  fifteen  to  twenty-five  feet.  And  for  long 
casts  this  equipment  is  ideal. 

While  these  rods  are  excellent  for  fishing  on 
large  streams,  on  rocky  and  overgrown  woods 
brooks,  three,  two,  and  even  J^  ounce  rods 
of  7  to  83/2  feet  are  favorites  with  many  anglers. 
Even  with  these  little  rods  fairly  heavy  lines 
are  the  rule,  the  short  tapers  being  fine  at  the 
ends,  so  that  small  4^-  and  6-foot  leaders 
can  be  handled  accurately  at  short  range. 

In  working  out  with  the  dry-fly — which 
must  be  done  without  touching  the  water  in 
front — it  is  much  more  difficult  to  handle  rod 
and  line  in  places  that  are  overhung  with  trees 
than  in  wet-fly  casting,  hence  the  utility  of  the 
heavy  line,  short  taper,  and  short  leader. 

It  is  good  fun  to  make  up  your  own  leaders 
on  winter  nights.  But  even  if  you  do  not  do 
this,  it  is  economical  to  repair  those  that  have 
been  used,  and  put  them  in  good  condition  for 
the  coming  season.     Soak  them  well;  it  is  a 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES    69 

good  plan  to  put  all  leaders  to  be  repaired  in 
a  tray  of  water,  taking  out  each  one  as  needed. 
Examine  the  loop,  and  if  it  is  frayed  or  broken, 
cut  it  off  and  tie  a  new  one.  This  is  made  by 
doubling  the  gut,  passing  the  single  loop  thus 
formed  around  the  doubled  strands  and  under 
the  double  loop,  then  pulling  taut.  Fig.  9  shows 


Fig.  9. — Forming  the  Leader  Loop, 
this,  but  bear  in  mind  that  twisting  the  strands 
will  result  in  a  bad  knot.     Cut  the  short  end 
close  to  the  knot.     It  will  not  pull  out. 

Make  the  loop  short,  and  attach  end  of  line 
to   leader   as   shown   in   Fig.  10.     This   is    a 


Fig.  10.— Attaching  End  of  Line  to  Leader 
simple  but  very  secure  fastening,  and  one  which 
may  be  untied  without  difficulty  or  injury  to 
the  line.    The  end  of  line  may  be  looped  back, 


70  FISHING  TACKLE 

so  that  it  may  be  pulled  out  readily,  but  this 
makes  a  clumsy  knot,  and  is  unnecessary.  An- 
other method  that  is  followed  by  some  anglers 
is  to  attach  a  short  loop  of  heavy  gut  to  the 
end  of  the  line,  so  that  the  leader  can  be  looped 
over  this.  It  is  satisfactory  if  the  gut  loop 
be  soaked  before  strain  is  put  on  it,  and  also 
provided  the  loop  be  very  firmly  made  fast. 
It  should  be  soaked  thoroughly,  then  whipped 
on  with  heavily  waxed  silk  under  considerable 
tension,  so  that  it  cannot  pull  out. 

Examine  all  knots  in  the  leader,  and  if  the 
gut  be  broken  next  to  one  of  them — as  fre- 
quently happens — cut  it  and  tie  a  new  knot. 
This  may  at  first  seem  to  be  a  difficult  matter, 
but  if  you  will  practice  with  the  ends  of  a  piece 
of  cord  large  enough  to  give  you  a  clear  idea 
how  the  thing  is  done,  it  will  be  easy  to  master. 
Many  knots  are  in  common  use,  but  with  most 
of  them  the  ends  of  the  gut  stick  out  parallel 
with  the  strands,  and  are  rough  and  untidy.  In 
the  knot  given  in  Fig.  1 1  the  ends  stand  out  at 
right  angles  to  the  strands,  and  may  be  clipped 
off  close  to  the  knot,  as  they  cannot  pull  out. 
The  ends  of  the  gut  are  overlapped  slightly, 
then  one  end  is  turned  twice  around  the  other 
strand  and  secured  between  the  two.  Reverse 
ends  and  tie  the  second  part  of  the  knot  in  the 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES    71 


Fig.  ii. — Method  of  Tying  a  Leader  Knot. 

same  way.  When  pulled  taut  the  ends  may  be 
cut  off  close. 

Accidental  knots  can  usually  be  worked  out 
and  the  gut  straightened,  but  if  not,  replace 
that  strand  with  a  new  one. 

When  the  new  leader  is  finished,  or  the  old 
one  repaired,  suspend  it  from  a  brad  driven  in 
a  picture  moulding,  and  attach  a  weight  to  the 
lower  end,  to  stretch  it  slightly  while  it  is  dry- 
ing. A  dipsy  sinker  is  excellent  for  this  pur- 
pose. When  dry  take  the  leader  down,  coil  it 
and  put  it  away  in  a  dry,  dark  place,  with  a  tag 
attached,  giving  its  length  and  size.  Gut 
should  never  be  kept  in  a  strong  light. 

Finally,    swear   off   using   snelled   flies   and 


72 


FISHING  TACKLE 


stock  up  on  eyed  flies  instead.  These  are  better 
in  every  way,  but  one  advantage  alone  is  suffi- 
cient— you  have  no  snells  to  soak  in  changing 
flies.  Besides,  the  snells  are  a  nuisance  in  every 
way.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  the  fly- 
book  in  which  they  are  kept  tidy,  and  it  is  bulky 
and  awkward  to  handle  on  the  stream.  The 
neat  little  aluminum  fly-boxes  (Figs.  12  and  13) 


mm 

mm 

s 


Fig.  12. — Eyed  Fly-Box  with  Clips. 


Fig.  13.— Eyed  Fly-Box  with  Partitions  and  Transparent 
Covers. 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES    73 

are  compact,  roomy,  and  on  opening  one  you 
see  at  a  glance  all  its  contents.  And  every  fly 
is  securely  fastened  in  its  proper  place. 

If  it  is  desired  to  use  eyed  wet  flies — two  or 
more — these  are  attached  to  the  leader  with 
short  tippets,  kept  in  the  leader  soak-box  when 
not  in  use. 

Whether  the  eyed  fly  is  attached  to  point  of 
leader  or  to  a  tippet,  the  Turle  knot  (Fig.  14) 


<£k_  g*r- 


Fig.  14.— The  Turle  Knot. 

is  one  of  the  simplest  and  best.  Pass  the  gut 
through  the  eye  of  hook  and  tie  a  slip  knot 
with  a  loop  large  enough  to  go  over  the  fly 
without  injuring  it.  Pull  the  loop  tight  over 
head  of  fly  and  clip  end  close. 

For  cutting  gut,  removing  knots,  and  hand- 


Fig.    15. — Gut   Clipper   and   Tweezer 

ling  small  flies,  the  combination  clipper  and 
tweezer  (Fig.  15)  is  highly  recommended. 
With  ordinary  scissors  it  is  difficult  to  clip  close 


74  FISHING  TACKLE 

to  a  knot,  but  with  this  clipper  the  work  is 
neatly  done. 

In  recent  years  the  fishing  tackle  makers  of 
Great  Britain  have  adopted  a  new  system  of 
numbering  hooks.  This  is  called  the  new  scale. 
Americans,  however,  adhere  to  the  old  system, 
known  as  the  Redditch  scale.  Both  systems 
are  shown  in  Fig.  16,  the  lower  figures  giving 
the  old  or  Redditch  scale,  in  common  use  in 
the  United  States,  while  the  upper  figures  show 
the  new  scale. 

At  the  close  of  the  fishing  season,  put  away 
the  fly-book  or  box  in  a  moth-proof  receptacle. 
A  red  cedar  box  is  the  safest  place,  but  a  metal 
box  that  has  a  tight-fitting  cover  will  answer. 
As  an  additional  precaution,  put  camphor  balls 
or  crystals  with  the  flies,  but  do  not  sprinkle  any 
of  the  latter  over  them,  for  this  may  serve  to 
rust  the  hooks.  Still,  it  is  not  safe  to  leave  fly- 
book  or  box  closed,  even  though  camphor  is 
present.  Instead,  leave  it  open,  so  that  the 
fumes  of  the  camphor  will  penetrate  between 
all  leaves.  The  best  plan  is  to  secure  a  small 
atomizer,  put  gasoline  in  it,  and  spray  all  of  the 
flies  before  putting  them  away  for  the  season. 
This,  with  the  camphor,  will  keep  away  moths, 
and  destroy  any  eggs  that  may  already  be 
among  the  flies. 


LEADERS,  GUT,  EYED  FLIES      75 

f 


u 


VJ' 


f  6 


u 


UULi 


UVJ 


17    16  15    14    13.    12      11       10        9  8  7  6  5 


1C 


% 


f 


f  f 


13 


12 


<J  \J^ 


r         f 

IS 


39 


Fig.  16.— Lower  Figures  Give  the  Numbers  in  the  Red- 
ditch  Scale.    Upper  Figures,  the  New  Scale. 


76  FISHING  TACKLE 

Repeat  this  at  least  once  during  the  winter, 
in  order  to  be  on  the  safe  side.  If  you  ever 
open  your  fly-book  on  a  cold  night — just  to  re- 
new acquaintance  with  old  friends — and  find 
your  favorite  flies  a  mass  of  fluff,  you  will  not 
need  a  second  warning.  Where  there  are 
moths  the  utmost  care  is  necessary  in  protect- 
ing flies. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ROD  CASES  AND  FORMS 

ON  the  use  to  which  you  will  put  your  rod 
depends  the  kind  of  protective  covering 
you  will  need.     There  are  anglers  who 
will  have  nothing  but  a  thin  muslin  cover,  but 
something  better  is  needed  for  rods  that  are  to 
be  carried  far. 

The  makers  of  the  best  fly-rods  supply  alum- 
inum or  bamboo  tubes  with  screw  caps  for  the 
tips,  this  tube  and  the  middle  and  butt  joint  go- 
ing into  a  canvas  case,  so  that  the  stiff  tube 
protects  the  two  other  parts  when  all  are  bound 
with  the  tie-tapes  of  the  cover.  The  wood 
form  is  the  most  common  type,  and  these  are 
cheap.  Aluminum  tubes  with  screw  caps  are 
suitable  for  either  fly  or  bait  rods.  Aluminum 
tubing  of  almost  any  desired  size  is  obtain- 
able from  the  supply  companies,  at  20  to 
50  cents  per  foot,  and  fiber  tubing  of  similar 
sizes  can  be  had  from  some  hardwareman  at 
about  the  same  prices.  Both  fiber  and  alum- 
inum tubes  are  made  in  sizes  up  to  about  two 

77 


78  FISHING  TACKLE 

inches.  For  long  rods  a  tube  of  some  sort  is 
very  handy.  It  can  be  fitted  with  corks,  or  with 
a  screw  cap  on  one  end,  and  in  a  case  of  this 
sort  a  rod  is  safe  from  hard  knocks. 

Tip  cases  are  sometimes  made  to  order  by 
houses  that  supply  mailing  tubes.  The  meth- 
od of  winding  the  strips  of  strawboard  spir- 
ally makes  these  tubes  tough  and  strong,  and  if 
the  walls  are  thick,  the  ends  corked  and  the  tube 
supplied  with  a  canvas  case,  the  rod  will  be  well 
protected.  I  have  seen  these  tubes  as  small  as 
one  inch  in  diameter,  for  long  tips.  Sometimes 
they  are  covered  with  leather.  They  are  fre- 
quently made  thus  for  bait-casting  rods  which 
have  separate  handgrasps,  the  grasps  to  be  car- 
ried in  a  pocket  or  tackle  case. 

A  very  good  plan  is  to  groove  a  piece  of 
white  pine  so  that  the  tips  of  the  rod  will  lie 
below  the  surface,  the  grooves  being  enlarged 
to  let  the  guides  go  underneath,  then  inclose 
this  form  in  a  canvas  case  with  the  butt  and 
joint,  the  whole  rod  being  fairly  well  protected. 
Choose  a  piece  an  inch  thick  and  about  2  inches 
wide. 

Still  another  way  is  to  employ  a  canvas  case 
of  the  form  illustrated  in  Figs.  17  and  18.  The 
upper  end  is  bound  with  braid  or  is  hemmed, 
the  lower  edge  turned  over  and  sewed  length- 


ROD  CASES  AND  FORMS    79 


i  i  r 

Figs.  17  and  18. — Canvas  Case  for  Rods. 

wise  and  three  tapes  attached  to  the  back.  This 
leaves  pockets  for  the  butt,  the  joint  and  the 
two  tips.  One  of  the  tip  pockets  is  made  large 
enough  to  admit  a  piece  of  wood  a  half-inch 
square  and  of  the  same  length  as  the  tips. 
Round  off  its  corners  and  it  will  not  injure  the 
tip.  When  the  rod  is  taken  out  of  the  case  this 
piece  of  wood  will  remain  to  protect  the  extra 
tip,  which  might  otherwise  be  broken. 


CHAPTER  IX 

GENERAL    HINTS 

THE  creel  is  usually  associated  with  trout 
fishing,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is 
one  of  the  handiest  things  the  fisher  has 
fallen  heir  to  for  all  sorts  of  fishing  in  which 
wading  or  walking  is  the  rule — fishing  from  a 
boat,  of  course,  calling  for  another  sort  of  kit. 
But  there  are  all  sorts  of  creels. 

The  best  one  for  all-round  use  is  the  long, 
thin  creel.  It  is  no  more  trouble  to  carry  than 
one  of  the  short,  thick  kind;  in  fact,  it  is  less 
likely  to  catch  on  briers,  trees,  and  wire  fences 
as  one  walks  along  a  stream.  If  you  will  im- 
prove it  to  suit  your  own  needs,  it  will  be  still 
more  useful.  There  is  space  enough  in  it  for  a 
small  kit,  lunch,  and  any  ordinary  number  of 
fish  you  may  catch  before  noon.  But  if  lunch, 
fly-box,  soak-box,  and  other  articles  are  all 
jumbled  together  in  it,  it  is  awkward  to  put 
your  fish  in  with  them.  Remedy  this  by  putting 
a  partition  in  the  creel.     Some  anglers  divide 

80 


T3 

O 

a 


»  w 


GENERAL   HINTS  81 

the  creel  with  a  piece  of  fiber  or  a  strip  of  can- 
vas laced  to  the  bottom  and  ends;  others  use  in- 
sulated wires.  Whatever  is  put  in  should  be 
immune  from  damage  when  the  creel  is  washed 
out. 

If  the  partition  is  close  to  the  back  of  the 
basket,  and  extends  nearly  to  the  top,  this  will 
give  you  ample  space  for  fly-book,  soak-box, 
and  package  of  lunch.  The  larger  space,  in  the 
front  of  the  creel,  will  then  be  clear  for  the  fish 
you  catch.  The  bottom  being  lower  at  the 
front,  the  water  that  enters  with  your  catch 
will  drain  off  without  wetting  your  lunch.  With 
this  arrangement  every  article  "  stays  put." 

In  my  creel  I  carry  a  landing-net  which  col- 
lapses, and  this  reduces  the  outfit  to  two  parts 
to  be  carried — rod  and  creel.  The  landing  net 
referred  to  has  a  bronze  hoop  about  a  foot  in 
diameter — I  cut  mine  down  to  nine  inches.  It 
may  be  extended  or  contracted  like  a  spiral 
clock  spring.  When  closed  or  open  the  hoop  is 
clamped  rigidly  by  means  of  a  set-screw.  The 
handle  is  a  short  piece  of  bamboo.  In  the  end 
of  this  I  put  a  piece  of  rawhide  four  inches 
long,  securing  it  with  a  cork  shellacked  and 
driven  in.  The  net  is  of  ample  size.  When 
closed,  the  net  is  wound  around  the  hoop,  and 
in  this  shape  the  device  is  about  five  inches  wide 


82  FISHING  TACKLE 

by  eleven  inches  in  length.  It  occupies  little 
space  in  the  back  of  the  creel. 

The  rawhide  strap  has  a  slit  ending  in  an 
eyelet.  On  the  web  shoulder-strap  of  the  creel 
a  metal  button  is  sewed.  When  the  creel  is  in 
place  this  button  is  just  over  the  left  shoulder. 
The  strap  is  buttoned  on  and  the  landing  net 
rests  behind  the  left  shoulder.  When  the  net 
is  wanted  the  strap  is  within  reach  of  either 
hand.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  lose  a  landing 
net  secured  in  this  fashion.  It  is  not  in  the 
way  of  either  hand  while  one  is  fishing,  and 
when  wanted  it  may  be  detached  in  an  instant 
without  any  fumbling. 

When  one  is  wading  a  stream  there  is  always 
the  possibility  that  he  may  slip  and  fall  in  swift 
water.  The  seriousness  of  such  an  accident  de- 
pends largely  on  the  character  of  the  water  and 
the  shore  immediately  below  him  and  on  the 
clothing  and  equipment.  It  being  second  nature 
for  an  angler  to  cling  to  his  rod  through  thick 
and  thin,  if  he  is  encased  in  heavy  wading  trou- 
sers and  brogues  and  carries  a  heavy  creel  se- 
cured with  straps  and  buckles,  he  may  be  in  for 
a  very  unpleasant  ten  minutes  before  he  gets 
his  feet  under  him  again  on  solid  bottom.  At 
such  a  time  it  is  foolhardly  to  think  of  swim- 
ming.    Instead,  exert  every  effort  to  keep  your 


GENERAL   HINTS  83 

head  upstream,  and  turning  face  down,  so  that 
creel  and  landing  net  will  drift  behind  you,  stop 
your  progress  with  hands  and  feet,  gain  a  foot- 
hold, and  rise  slowly.  If  it  is  necessary  to  free 
yourself  of  the  creel,  this  is  much  more  easily 
done  with  one  hand  if  the  fastenings  are  snaps 
instead  of  buckles. 

For  use  in  dry-fly  fishing  I  soldered  a  rather 
large  safety  pin  on  one  of  the  ten-cent  oil  tubes 
sold  everywhere  by  the  trade.  Filled  with  par- 
affin oil,  it  is  pinned  on  the  creel  shoulder  strap 
or  secured  on  the  leather  strap  that  passes 
through  the  back  of  the  creel,  where  it  cannot 
be  turned  upside  down. 

As  the  screw  cap  of  this  tube  is  a  clumsy 
thing  to  handle,  I  improved  it,  too.  A  small 
hole  was  drilled  into  its  top,  then  a  larger  one 
was  bored  through  it  from  side  to  side,  tapping 
the  first  hole.  A  piece  of  silk  line  was  pushed 
down  the  hole  in  the  top  and  out  at  one  side, 
a  knot  tied  in  the  end  and  pulled  into  the  cap. 
The  other  end  of  the  cord  was  tied  into  the 
safety  pin.  As  the  cord  will  swivel,  the  cap 
may  be  unscrewed  without  snarling  it,  and  it 
cannot  be  lost. 

There  are  a  number  of  handy  devices  to  be 
had  in  the  trade  for  carrying  paraffin  oil  and 
other   solutions   intended  to   make   flies   float. 


84  FISHING  TACKLE 

One  of  them  is  a  tiny  atomizer  which  is  cleaner 
to  use  than  any  bottle  or  other  receptacle,  from 
which  oil  may  find  its  way  into  one's  clothing, 
there  to  remain  "  for  keeps." 

For  floating  a  dressed  line,  use  crude  petro- 
leum— a  drop  on  a  piece  of  flannel  is  sufficient 
to  float  the  heaviest  tapered  line.  It  is  also  ex- 
cellent for  cleaning  the  line  occasionally.  Use 
it  sparingly,  and  wipe  the  line  dry  afterward. 

For  wet  weather  purchase  a  fishing  shirt. 
These  waterproof  shirts,  some  of  them,  are  big 
and  comfortable  to  wear,  but  may  be  folded 
into  a  package  not  much  more  bulky  than  a 
sou'wester.  This  head-piece  is  another  handy 
article  to  take  along  on  day  trips,  unless  you 
wear  a  felt  hat,  which  in  itself  is  more  or  less 
waterproof.  I  have  been  out  all  day  in  a  down- 
pour of  rain  many  a  time,  but,  clad  in  a  sou'wes- 
ter, fishing  shirt,  and  wading  trousers,  was  dry 
and  comfortable. 


CHAPTER  X 

EQUIPMENT  FOR  FLY-  AND  BAIT-CASTING 

SO  many  inquiries  have  come  to  me  from 
anglers  in  relation  to  fly-  and  bait-casting 
practice  that  a  few  remarks  on  the  sub- 
ject may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  Not  only 
are  clubs  being  formed  now  and  then,  but  small 
groups  of  anglers  in  towns  and  villages  wish  to 
practice  under  tournament  conditions,  in  order 
that  they  may  compare  their  work  with  that  of 
other  anglers  who  are  enabled  to  watch  expert 
casters  and  obtain  advice  from  them,  and  to 
cast  under  their  coaching  as  well.  Club  mem- 
bers practice  tournament  casting  in  order  that 
they  may  become  better  anglers,  and  in  group 
or  club  practice  the  angler  attains  better  re- 
sults than  he  can  possibly  hope  for  in  experi- 
menting alone.  The  principal  fault  in  practic- 
ing alone  is  that  he  cannot  see  the  faults  that  a 
companion  may  readily  point  out,  and  in  this 
way  he  may  fall  into  errors  very  difficult  to  cor- 
rect. Friendly  criticism  is  of  immense  advan- 
tage. 

85 


86  FISHING  TACKLE 

Tournament  casting  is  largely  a  game,  but  it 
teaches  many  useful  things.  For  example,  the 
fly-fisher  may  supply  himself  with  the  finest 
of  tackle,  but  if  he  lacks  coolness  and  self-con- 
trol, he  may  lose  his  largest  trout  by  striking 
too  hard  or  playing  it  roughly  in  his  impatience : 
but  if  he  knows  exactly  how  to  cast  his  fly, 
the  strength  of  his  leader,  the  limitations  of 
his  rod,  etc.,  the  battle  is  half  won  when  the 
trout  is  hooked,  for  he  feels  confident  and  cool. 

On  the  other  hand,  no  matter  how  skillful  he 
may  be  in  fly-fishing,  let  him  take  part  for  the 
first  time  in  a  club  contest,  and  his  stream-ac- 
quired skill  will  avail  little,  for  he  will  find  him- 
self casting  at  a  terrific  rate,  tying  leader  and 
line  in  knots,  and  doing  everything  but  nice 
casting.  Instead  of  laughing  at  him,  however, 
the  other  contestants  will  praise  him  for  one 
thing  and  offer  a  suggestion  concerning  another. 
Following  these,  he  will  be  surprised  to  find  his 
confidence  returning,  and  the  next  time  he  tries 
to  cast  he  will  feel  less  timid  and  forget  that  he 
is  being  watched.  Interest  in  the  pastime  will 
increase,  and  presently  he  will  find  that  his  in- 
terest in  fishing  is  growing,  and  that  it,  too,  pre- 
sents allurements  that  he  never  thought  of  be- 
fore. 

There  is  not  much  that  can  be  done  during 


EQUIPMENT  87 

the  winter  in  the  way  of  fly-casting,  but  with 
bait-casting  the  case  is  different.  In  places 
where  there  is  no  water  for  summer  practice, 
there  will  be  found  suitable  ground  for  practice 
on  the  snow,  and  there  many  an  otherwise  dull 
afternoon  may  be  pleasantly  passed,  with  the 
bait  or  surf  rod.  The  necessary  equipment  for 
this  is  simple.  Determine  on  the  place  to  stand 
in  casting,  which  shauld  be  level  with  or  slightly 
above  the  surface  of  the  snow,  as  a  low  box  or  a 
couple  of  boards.  Then  with  a  tape  measure 
off  ioo  feet,  and  drive  a  stake  into  the  ground; 
to  this  attach  the  end  of  the  tape,  which,  when 
stretched  out  another  ioo  feet,  will  furnish  an 
accurate  measure  for  all  of  your  casts. 

If  two  or  more  persons  practice  together, 
one  may  stand  beyond  the  ioo  foot  mark  while 
the  others  cast,  and  score  for  them,  but  if  one 
casts  alone,  pieces  of  board  or  paper  placed  at 
125,  150,  175,  and  200  feet,  will  serve  as 
marks  by  which  he  may  determine  his  average 
distance  casting — if  he  does  not  care,  while 
reeling  in,  to  walk  up  to  the  place  where  the 
weight  falls  each  time,  and  mark  the  exact  dis- 
tance. 

The  lawn  is  also  a  fair  place  to  practice,  but 
casting  on  the  snow  is  almost  like  practice  on 
the  water,  and  in  it  the  line  becomes  more  or 


88  FISHING  TACKLE 

less  wet,  so  that  it  does  not  blister  the  thumb,  as 
casting  on  the  lawn  with  a  dry  line  is  likely  to 
do  until  you  have  become  accustomed  to  it. 

It  is  well  to  keep  an  accurate  score,  be  it  good 
or  bad,  for  this  will  show  your  improvement. 
Make  one  or  two  preliminary  casts,  then  cast 
five  times,  scoring  each  cast,  and  divide  the  total 
by  five,  to  obtain  the  average,  marking  the  best 
single  cast  in  each  string,  if  you  like.  Count 
every  cast  made,  marking  those  in  which  the 
reel  overruns  with  a  star,  so  that,  later  on,  you 
can  tell  whether  these  backlashes  come  less  fre- 
quently, as  they  should  with  practice.  Do  not 
try  to  excuse  them,  for  backlashing  is  discour- 
aging in  bass  casting,  and  in  a  tournament  it 
ruins  averages.  Besides,  if  you  could  make  five 
perfect  casts  at  every  trial,  you  would  lose  in- 
terest in  the  pastime.  As  in  fishing,  its  uncer- 
tainty is  one  of  its  greatest  charms. 

There  are  plenty  of  mild  days  in  winter  when 
two  or  three  friends  may  practice  comfortably 
on  the  snow,  and  at  this  time  uneven  places  that 
cannot  be  utilized  when  the  ground  is  bare  are 
admirable  for  casting.  This  is  also  a  good 
time  to  locate  a  place  for  next  season's  club  or 
group  practice,  and  to  make  the  necessary 
equipment.  If  a  stream  or  a  pond  is  convenient, 
locate  a  place  for  a  platform,  and  even  get  the 


EQUIPMENT 


89 


material  for  this  in  shape  to  be  put  into  the 
water  when  spring  comes. 

If  for  a  club  of  twenty  members,  and  spec- 
tators are  likely  to  number  as  many  more  when 
contests  are  held,  there  should  be  two  plat- 
forms, arranged  somewhat  as  follows  (see 
Fig.  19). 


JL 


SHORE"    UNE. 


BENCHES  Off  SEATS  fO*  MS/TORS. 
Fig.   19. — Casting  Platforms  and  Runways. 

A  represents  a  gangway  at  least  twenty-five 
feet  in  length.  B  is  a  platform  large  enough  to 
permit  all  of  the  club  members  to  move  about 
freely  while  arranging  rods  and  lines;  and,  of 
course,  interested  visitors.  It  should  be 
strongly  supported,  to  prevent  a  collapse  under 
the  weight  of  a  number  of  persons.  C  is  a 
gangway  at  least  fifteen  feet  in  length,  and  D 
is  the  casting  platform.    This  is  placed  at  a  dis- 


90  FISHING  TACKLE 

tance  from  the  main  platform  in  order  that  a 
contestant  while  casting  shall  be  free  from  all 
interference ;  a  cross  wind  will  not  carry  his  line 
among  his  friends  on  the  large  platform,  nor 
endanger  the  rods  in  the  rack  E.  The  platform 
will  be  close  enough  to  the  shore  line  for  visi- 
tors to  watch  the  casting,  but  they  cannot 
bother  the  contestants  nor  endanger  the  rods 
and  outfits. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  location  of  the  plat- 
forms should  be  made  with  a  view  to  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  prevailing  wind,  the  shore  line 
being  parallel  with  its  course,  so  that  casting 
may  be  with  the  wind.  With  platforms  ar- 
ranged as  shown  in  Fig.  19,  the  marking  line 
may  be  stretched  to  right  or  left,  obliquely  to- 
ward shore  at  either  side,  obliquely  away  from 
shore,  and  in  bait-casting,  straight  away  from 
shore.  This  latter  direction  would  be  unfavor- 
able for  fly-casting,  as  there  would  hardly  be 
clear  space  for  the  back  cast. 

The  referee  should  be  stationed  on  the 
gangway  C,  and  he  should  not  permit  any  per- 
son to  be  with  him  while  a  contestant  is  on  the 
small  platform.  This  cannot  well  be  less  than 
7x9  feet  in  size,  and  the  regulation  height  is 
eighteen  inches  above  the  water  level.  Cover 
this  platform  with  canvas,  painted,  to  keep  the 


EQUIPMENT  91 

lines  clean  and  free  from  catching  on  splinters 
and  nails. 

The  rod  rack  E  should  be  four  feet  high, 
five  feet  long,  and  three  feet  wide,  with  notches 
on  the  top  bar,  to  prevent  rods  from  being 
blown  over  by  the  wind.  Fig.  20  shows  a  con- 
venient form  for  a  rack. 


Fig.  20. — Rod  Rack. 

H  is  the  notched  top  bar,  against  which  the 
rods  lean,  while  the  bar  M  prevents  them  from 
slipping.  L  is  another  cross-piece  for  rod 
forms  and  cases.  Nails  may  be  driven  in  the 
back  bar  of  H,  on  which  to  hang  coats  and 
hats.  If  the  rack  is  nailed  down  on  the  shore 
side  of  the  platform,  rods  may  rest  against  it 
securely,  with  leaders  in  the  water,  ready  for 
casting. 

Obviously  the  most  reliable  device  with 
which  to  measure  fly  and  bait  casts  is  a  string  of 
floating  boards  with  feet  and  inches  marked  on 
them;  but  these  are  costly  and  unwieldy.  Next 
comes  a  line  with  floats  attached,  with  the  dis- 
tances marked  on  them,  or  painted  different 


92  FISHING  TACKLE 

colors,  to  represent  various  distances.  The 
first  device  that  suggests  itself  is  an  upright 
disk  with  figures  painted  on  it,  but  this  is  im- 
practicable because  lines  would  catch  on  it,  and 
the  upright  would  need  a  counter-weight  to  pre- 
vent it  from  toppling  over. 

There  must  be  no  angles,  projections  or 
hooks  for  the  lines  to  foul.  The  simplest  line, 
therefore,  is  one  consisting  of  225  or  250  feet 
of  3-16  inch  braided  cord,  such  as  tackle 
dealers  sell  for  $1.20  per  100  yards.  A  good 
grade  of  curtain  cord  is  nearly  as  serviceable. 
Either  one  selected  should  be  waterproof  to 
prevent  shrinking,  stretching,  and  decay.  To 
one  end  attach  a  harness  snap-hook,  to  be  snap- 
ped into  a  ring  on  the  forward  edge  of  the  cast- 
ing platform.  This  hook  must  be  put  on  last, 
as  will  appear  farther  on.  Now  measure  off 
sixty  feet  and  tie  a  simple  knot  in  the  line. 
Here  let  us  digress  for  a  moment. 

Experience  will  prove  that  one  who  stands 
on  the  platform,  occupied  with  his  casting,  can- 
not accurately  determine  how  far  he  is  casting  a 
fly  if  the  marking  line  is  equipped  with  floats 
painted  different  colors.  Neither  can  he  see 
figures  on  the  floats,  all  of  which  look  alike  to 
him,  so  fully  occupied  is  he  with  his  efforts  to 
lengthen  his  casts.    Make  one  mark  round,  an- 


EQUIPMENT  93 

other  square,  and  so  on,  and  he  will  at  once  as- 
sociate the  different  forms  with  their  proper 
distances.  Egg-shaped  floats  are  the  most 
practical  form,  but  the  caster  is  at  a  disadvan- 
tage when  they  are  employed,  and  if  figures  are 
painted  on  them,  these  cannot  be  seen  easily  by 
the  judges  when  they  are  at  a  distance.  There- 
fore, if  the  marks  are  five  feet  apart,  which  is 
close  enough  for  a  beginning,  and  for  practice, 
let  the  first  one  at  60  feet  be  a  six-inch  red  disk, 
with  the  figures  painted  in  black  on  each  side 
(R,Fig.2i). 

Bore  the  disk  as  shown,  with  a  quarter-inch 
bit,  so  that  the  knot  in  the  line  will  rest  in  the 
center.  Dip  two  pine  plugs  in  paint  and  drive 
them  into  the  hole,  one  on  each  side,  the  ends 
flush  with  the  disk.  The  knot  in  the  line  being 
between  their  ends,  the  disk  cannot  slip  on  the 
line,  and  the  fresh  paint  will  hold  the  plugs  sol- 
idly. No  matter  which  side  of  the  disk  is  up, 
the  figures  may  easily  be  seen  by  the  judges, 
even  at  a  distance. 

Tie  another  knot  five  feet  from  the  center  of 
the  first  disk  and  attach  a  three-inch  egg-shaped 
blue  float,  also  plugged  (S,  Fig.  21).  Five  feet 
farther  on  attach  a  white  disk,  marked  70.  At 
75  feet  use  a  square  white  disk  bored  from  cor- 
ner to  corner;  at  80  a  white  disk;  at  85  a  blue 


94  FISHING  TACKLE 

egg-shaped  float;  at  90  a  white  disk;  at  95  an- 
other blue  float;  and  at  100  another  square 
white  float  (T,  Fig.  21). 


Fig.  21. — Floats  for  Marking  Line. 

This  is  about  as  far  as  the  fly-caster  can  de- 
termine the  form  of  floats  accurately,  unless 
they  are  somewhat  widely  separated.  All  that 
is  now  necessary  is  to  provide  for  accurate  scor- 
ing by  the  judges.  White  six-inch  disks,  there- 
fore, will  serve  for  the  1 10,  120,130,  140,  160, 
170,  180,  and  190  foot  marks,  with  large  fig- 
ures on  each.  At  125,  150,  175  and  200  feet 
use  square  floats,  for  the  bait-casters  can  see 
these  clearly.  Paint  the  125  and  175  foot 
marks  red,  the  150  and  200  foot  marks  white. 
Blue  floats  mark  the  odd  distances  throughout 
the  line,  except  at  75,  125,  and  175  feet,  as 
noted  above.  No  weights  of  any  sort  will  be 
needed,  and  if  the  corners  and  edges  of  all 
marks  be  smoothed  off,  there  will  be  no  place 
on  the  entire  line  that  a  casting  line  will  foul. 

These  markers  should  all  be  saturated  with 


EQUIPMENT  95 

linseed  oil  and  dried  before  they  are  painted 
and  marked,  to  prevent  them  from  warping 
and  checking.  They  should  then  be  given  two 
coats  of  enamel,  not  paint,  and  if  taken  out  of 
the  water  after  use,  and  stored  in  a  dry  place, 
they  will  remain  clean  and  bright,  and  the  fig- 
ures will  show  distinctly.  Such  a  line  will  cost 
about  $5,  and  will  last  several  seasons.  White 
pine  is  best  for  the  large  marks.  It  should  be 
one  inch  thick,  and  the  square  marks  should  be 
12x12  inches.  The  egg-shaped  floats  can  be 
purchased  from  tackle  dealers. 

For  tournament  use,  where  more  accurate 
measurements  are  required,  egg-shaped  fishing 
floats  iy2  inches  long  can  be  used  to  mark 
every  foot  between  the  five  and  ten-foot  dis- 
tances. 

Galvanized  cable-laid  steel  wire  one-eighth 
inch  in  diameter  is  better  than  braided  cord. 
Attach  all  marks  to  this  wire  with  painted  pine 
plugs.  Nails  driven  through  markers  and  line 
are  unsatisfactory. 

For  accuracy  bait-casting  a  target  is  best. 
The  simplest  form  may  be  made  as  follows: 
Join  two  ix4-inch  boards  in  the  center,  as 
shown  by  KK,  NN,  Fig.  22,  and  paint  them 
green.  At  their  intersection  attach  a  six-inch 
water-tight  tin  can  (W),  painted  red.     Encir- 


96 


FISHING  TACKLE 


cling  this,  attach  to  the  four  bars  a  half-inch 
water-tight  gas-pipe  ring  (P)  30  inches  in  di- 
ameter, painted  white.  Four  staples  may  be 
used  in  making  it  fast  to  the  bars.  Wire  will 
catch  the  lures.  One  foot  from  this  circle 
attach  a  similar  one  ^y2  feet  in  diameter,  and 
so  on  until  five  are  in  place.  As  all  parts  of  the 
target  should  be  just  awash,  with  only  the  red 
bullseye  showing  distinctly,  regulating  devices 
are  necessary.  Four  paint  cans  attached  solidly 
to  the  bars  underneath  will  serve,  provided  they 
do  not  leak.  If  the  target  floats  too  high,  let 
a  little  water  into  the  cans.  Screw-top  cans, 
are,  for  this  reason,  the  handiest  form.  (See 
X,  Fig.  22.). 


N 

Fig.  22.  Fig.  23. 

Accuracy  Bait-Casting  Target. 

Some  clubs  have  platforms  so  arranged  that 
the  accuracy  target  may  be  left  afloat  under  the 
platform  from  week  to  week.     Two  sides  of 


■■■■■--'._  ■*-.■•« 

■ 
,' .  -'-'if 

1 
r%*                                      |                              :  i 

l 

1                                t# 

5 

>      * 

.&.?,.-. — ; '^k J 

EQUIPMENT  97 

the  platform  are  guarded  with  stakes,  while  on 
the  ends  there  are  hinged  boards,  made  to  turn 
down  and  lock,  to  prevent  the  target  from  being 
floated  out  and  tampered  with.  It  is  a  very 
handy  arrangement,  as  a  target  of  this  size  is 
awkward  to  carry  to  and  from  a  storage  place. 

If  the  target  must  be  carried  any  distance 
from  where  it  is  to  be  used,  it  may  be  made  in 
sections  (Fig.  23),  and  the  segments  put  to- 
gether by  means  of  bolts  through  two  of  the 
bars  (Z).  In  this  case  all  ends  of  the  tubes 
must  be  capped  or  plugged,  to  keep  out  water. 
The  bullseye  and  air-tanks  may  be  attached  in 
various  ways. 

Under  the  target  W  (Fig.  22)  attach  a  large 
screw-eye,  and  to  this  make  fast  the  center  of 
a  suitable  line.  Attach  snap-hooks  to  one  part 
of  the  line,  say  60,  80,  and  100  feet  from  cen- 
ter of  target.  If  the  60-foot  hook  is  made  fast 
to  the  ring  on  the  platform,  the  other  end  of  the 
line  is  run  through  a  pulley-block  on  a  float  an- 
chored about  no  feet  from  the  platform,  then 
back  to  the  platform,  where  it  is  belayed. 
When  all  contestants  have  finished  casting  at 
60  feet,  the  60-foot  snap  is  cast  off,  the  70-foot 
snap  attached  to  the  ring  on  the  platform,  then, 
by  hauling  on  the  other  end  of  the  line,  the  tar- 
get is  moved  out  to  70  feet,  and  so  on  up  to 


98  FISHING  TACKLE 

ioo  feet,  the  longest  distance  employed  in  ac- 
curacy casting.    The  line  is  in  effect  endless. 

In  casting  at  this  target,  if  the  lure  falls  on 
or  within  the  30-inch  circle,  the  cast  is  scored 
O,  or  perfect;  if  it  falls  within  or  on  the  next 
circle  1  demerit,  and  so  on.  Casts  outside  the 
largest  circle  are  of  course  estimated.  For  ex- 
ample, if  one  scores  a  total  of  50  demerits  in 
fifteen  casts — three  at  each  distance,  60,  70,  80, 
90,  and  100  feet —  divide  it  by  15,  which  gives 
3  5/15.  This,  deducted  from  100,  gives  a  per- 
centage of  96  10-15. 

To  waterproof  braided  or  twisted  lines 
used  on  targets,  mix  equal  parts  by  weights  of 
rosin,  paraffin,  beeswax,  and  linseed  oil,  stir 
well  over  a  slow  fire,  and  while  very  hot  im- 
merse the  line  in  the  solution  for  ten  minutes. 
Wet  a  cloth,  wring  it  out,  and  holding  it  in  one 
hand  over  the  mixture,  draw  the  line  through 
the  cloth,  stripping  off  all  the  surplus  wax.  Let 
the  line  cool  and  dry  for  a  day  or  two  before 
using. 


CHAPTER  XI 

FLY-CASTING  CONTESTS 

THERE  is  an  old  saying  among  the  ang- 
lers that  it  is  easier  to  tell  another  per- 
son how  to  cast  properly  than  to  do  the 
thing  yourself.  This,  then,  is  my  excuse  for  at- 
tempting to  write  of  tournament  casting;  for  I 
have  practiced  this  amusement  for  less  than  fif- 
teen years,  and  am  just  beginning  to  learn.  But 
so  many  persons  have  asked  me  to  tell  them 
how  I  manage  to  cast  ioo  feet  and  more  with 
a  five-ounce  rod  that  it  is  possible  some  notes 
on  this  subject  may  interest  other  anglers,  too. 
One  of  these  inquirers  told  me — just  what 
many  old  anglers  have  admitted — that  he  has 
fished  for  years,  yet  cannot  cast  more  than  sixty 
feet.  Generally  anglers  think  their  rods  and 
lines  are  not  of  the  right  sort,  but  it  is  human 
nature  to  overlook  the  real  reason  for  lack  of 
success  in  accomplishing  the  thing  desired. 

Practice  casting  with  the  fly-rod — or  tourna- 
ment casting,  as  it  is  generally  called,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  fishing — is  good  fun  in  season 

99 


100  FISHING  TACKLE 

and  out,  but  in  addition  to  this,  it  is  a  great  edu- 
cator. One  may  be  a  successful  fisherman  for 
years  without  learning  how  to  cast  properly. 
He  may  adopt  a  style  that  is  all  wrong  when  it 
is  just  as  easy  to  start  right,  as  those  do  who 
are  coached  by  expert  casters  until  they  acquire 
the  knack  of  casting  correctly.  And  after  they 
have  practiced  a  bit,  they  step  into  the  trout 
stream  with  confidence  in  their  rods  and  in 
themselves. 

Tournament  casting  contests  have  been  criti- 
cized severely  by  men  who  have  not  gone  in  for 
this  sort  of  amusement  on  the  ground  that  it  is 
not  fishing,  and  that  the  rods,  reels,  and  lines 
used  are  not  such  as  are  commonly  used  in  fish- 
ing. This  is  mainly  true ;  but  still  it  is  notice- 
able that  every  veteran  fisherman  who  takes  up 
casting  becomes  an  enthusiast.  A  number  of 
these  veterans  have  told  me  that  they  learned 
more  in  one  season  on  the  platform  than  they 
had  acquired  in  all  the  years  they  had  been 
fishermen.  And  while  I  do  not  deny  that  many 
of  the  tools  used  in  casting  are  made  for  that 
purpose,  and  are  never  taken  to  the  stream,  I 
do  claim  that  every  tournament  rod,  reel,  and 
line  can  be  used  successfully  in  fishing  in  one 
place  or  another  in  this  great  country  of  ours. 
The  tournament  salmon  rod  is  an  excellent 


FLY-CASTING  CONTESTS    101 

fishing  rod;  the  heavy  single-hand  rod  is  used 
for  grilse  fishing — and  more  and  more  men  are 
every  year  admitting  that  it  is  not  necessary  to 
swing  a  great  English  two-handed  rod  over 
salmon  when  they  may  be  and  are  taken  with 
ordinary  medium  to  light  weight  trout  rods; 
the  five-ounce  tournament  rod  is  a  favorite 
trout  rod  for  large  streams  everywhere;  and 
finally,  the  four-ounce  tournament  rod  is  one 
of  the  best  dry-fly  trout  fishing  rods  that  has 
been  produced  anywhere. 

Aside  from  the  practice  in  the  company  of 
good  fellows  who  can  and  do  make  special  ef- 
forts to  assist  one,  to  a  fisherman  the  mingling 
with  congenial  spirits  is  an  important  part  of 
club  practice  and  contests.  You  may  live  in  a  vil- 
lage all  your  life  and  not  know  half  the  anglers 
there,  but  let  some  one  start  a  casting  club,  and 
you  will  make  the  acquaintance  of  all  the  good 
fishermen  roundabout,  and  form  many  lasting 
friendships  at  its  meetings. 

Take,  for  example,  a  tournament  held  in  the 
autumn — one  in  which  representatives  of  sev- 
eral casting  clubs  are  contestants.  On  such  oc- 
casions men  are  present  who  have  just  returned 
from  fishing,  and  the  discussions  that  arise 
their  opinions  are  worth  listening  to.  In  the 
little  visits  that  one  has  with  them  between  con- 


102  FISHING  TACKLE 

tests,  he  is  sure  to  learn  something  new  and 
worth  while  in  reference  to  fishing;  for  the  ang- 
ler, it  must  be  conceded,  never  grows  too  old  to 
learn. 

At  every  casting  tournament  that  I  have 
attended — and  I  am  sure  that  they  were  repre- 
sentative ones — half  of  those  present  were  not 
contestants,  but  anglers  who  were  drawn  to 
those  affairs  because  of  the  excellent  opportun- 
ity offered  to  "  talk  fishing  "  with  their  fellows. 
In  other  words,  to  pick  up  information;  to  ex- 
change ideas;  to  arrange  future  excursions  to 
waters  near  or  far.  I  know  dozens  of  these 
men,  who  never  cast,  yet  who  are  regular  at- 
tendants, and  mighty  good  judges  of  casting 
and  of  rods  and  tackle  as  well.  And  they  claim 
that  they  learn  something  at  every  visit. 

This  defense  of  casting  as  a  sport  or  game  is 
made  because  it  is  sometimes  ridiculed  by  those 
who  have  never  considered  the  matter  in  the 
proper  light,  yet  who  would  probably  admit 
that,  in  order  to  become  an  expert  game  shot, 
it  is  necessary  for  one  to  practice  at  the  target. 
You  can  hunt  game  with  the  rifle,  and  fish  for 
{rout  with  the  fly-rod,  without  practice,  but  in 
both  instances  horse  sense  will  show  that  it  is 
better  to  attain  proficiency  through  practice 
than  to  chuck  and  chance  it  without. 


FLY  CASTING  CONTESTS    103 

I  will  now  attempt  to  give  the  beginner  at  fly- 
fishing a  few  hints  as  to  casting  with  ordinary 
fishing  tackle,  leaving  tournament  casting  for 
discussion  farther  on. 


CHAPTER  XII 

FLY-FISHING  PRACTICE 

THE  best  place  to  practice  is  on  a  pond  or 
pool  where  a  little  point  juts  out  from 
the  shore,  affording  a  clear  space  be- 
fore and  behind  you,  so  that  your  line  will  not 
foul  trees  or  bushes.  Lacking  this,  erect  a  little 
platform  from  which  to  cast.  Secure  some 
planks  or  boards,  then  drive  two  stakes  as  far 
out  as  your  boards  will  reach,  nailing  a  strong 
cross-piece  to  them  and  making  the  ends  of  the 
boards  fast  to  this.  A  second  support  nearer 
shore  will  be  needed,  to  prevent  the  planks 
from  springing  too  much.  The  width  of  the 
platform  depends  upon  your  own  energy;  two 
planks  will  serve,  though  six  will  be  better. 

The  height  may  be  only  sufficient  to  clear  the 
water.  The  regulation  height  for  tournament 
platforms  is  eighteen  inches  above  the  water. 
This  is  all  right  for  bait-casting,  but  for  fly- 
casting  it  is  an  open  question  whether  height  is 
an  advantage.  I  for  one  do  not  believe  that  it 
is.    In  distance  casting  the  rod  and  line  are  kept 

104 


FLY-CASTING  PRACTICE    105 

at  a  considerable  distance  above  the  line  of  the 
caster's  middle  during  the  longest  part  of  a 
cast.  Control  of  the  line  is  greatest  when  it  is 
above  the  waist.  Therefore,  in  my  humble 
opinion,  the  nearer  one  stands  to  the  water 
level,  the  better  will  be  his  control  of  the  line. 

If  possible,  cast  along  the  shore,  so  that  the 
floating  marks  may  be  placed  at  known  dis- 
tances, to  inform  you  as  to  the  progress  you 
make ;  or  so  that  some  friend  may  tell  you  how 
far  or  how  accurate  are  your  casts. 

Joint  up  your  rod,  attach  the  reel  and  thread 
the  line  through  the  guides  and  top.  Attach  a 
leader  of  ordinary  length  to  the  line,  and  put 
on  an  old  fly  with  the  hook  cut  off  at  the  bend. 
A  fairly  heavy  leader  is  best,  and  this  should 
be  well  soaked  and  straightened. 

It  is  conceded  that  a  tapered  line  is  em- 
ployed, as  this  is  the  proper  sort  for  fishing. 
The  best  size  is  E,  but  if  the  rod  be  powerful, 
with  plenty  of  backbone,  a  D  line  may  fit  it 
better.  By  "  fit  "  is  meant  that  the  weight  of 
the  heavier  line  will  cause  the  rod  to  spring 
forward  and  back  nicely  when  under  perfect 
control  of  the  wrist,  and  not  compel  you  to 
put  into  the  cast  the  full-arm  motion  that  is  so 
often  seen,  yet  which  is  both  unnecessary  and 
fatiguing.     Let  the  rod  do  the  work. 


106  FISHING  TACKLE 

Now,  with  the  rod  in  the  right  and  the  line 
in  the  left  hand,  extend  the  line  thirty  feet;  then 
draw  it  toward  you  gently  until  it  straightens, 
and  lift  it  quickly  and  cleanly,  employing  the 
wrist  only,  the  arm  resting  against  your  side. 
The  lift,  retrieve,  or  recovery  then  steadies  until 
the  rod  reaches  the  vertical  position.  Stop  it 
there,  for  its  work  in  retrieving  ends  at  that 
point,  and  every  degree  it  extends  behind  will 
detract  materially  from  clean  casting.  Wait 
much  longer  than  you  ever  did  before  on  the 
back  cast,  then  bring  the  rod  forward  with  an 
even  swing,  and  stop  it  dead  just  before  it 
reaches  the  horizontal,  at  the  same  time  letting 
a  couple  of  yards  of  line  run  through  the 
guides. 

Try  again,  timing  the  cast  and  retrieve  I,  2; 
and  the  back  cast  3,  4,  5,  6.  Let  a  little  more 
line  out,  and  make  a  third  essay,  then  strip  in 
and  rest.  In  stripping,  or  pulling,  the  line 
through  the  guides,  always  hold  the  tip  of  the 
rod  down.  Stripping  with  the  rod  held  well  up 
will  soon  ruin  any  line,  as  the  latter  is  bent 
too  much  in  passing  through  the  top  ring.  This 
causes  excessive  wear  and  is  unnecessary. 

As  you  let  more  line  out,  you  will  notice  that 
the  rod  works  better — not  stiffly,  but  like  a 
flexible  steel  spring,  the  line  seeming  to  be  a 


FLY-CASTING  PRACTICE    107 

part  of  it.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  You  will 
also  notice  that  when  you  retrieve  smartly,  stop 
the  rod  overhead,  wait  patiently  until  the  line 
pulls  hard  behind  you,  then  make  the  for- 
ward cast  without  any  snap  at  all — you  will 
notice,  I  say,  that  considerably  more  line  runs 
through  your  left  hand,  and  that  it  lies  out 
straight  on  the  water  without  splash. 

Remember  that  in  fishing  for  trout  that  are 
shy,  the  less  you  disturb  the  water  the  better. 
Hence  the  value  of  learning  to  shoot  the  line 
instead  of  extending  it  by  a  series  of  casts, 
any  one  of  which  may  frighten  away  your  fish. 
"  Shooting"  means  the  jump  the  line  makes  at 
the  end  of  the  forward  cast  when  the  back 
cast  is  high  up  and  properly  timed. 

Do  not  try  to  work  out  too  far.  It  is  better 
to  work  out  in  two  or  three  casts,  followed  by 
a  shoot,  then  strip  in  and  begin  over  again. 
If  you  try  repeatedly  to  lift  all  the  line  you  can 
get  out,  you  will  only  tire  your  wrist  and  make 
slovenly  work  of  it. 

Try  again,  but  give  attention  to  the  left  hand 
now.  In  the  forward  cast  extend  the  left  hand 
the  right  foot  forward.  At  the  end  of  the  cast, 
and  just  before  you  begin  to  lift,  pull  in  the  line 
smartly  until  the  left  hand  rests  against  the 
body.     This  will  straighten  the  line   on  the 


108  FISHING  TACKLE 

water,  and  put  it  in  motion  to  lift.  This  is 
a  very  important  thing,  for  the  full  power  of 
lifting  is  attained  in  this  way,  instead  of  wast- 
ing one-third  of  the  retrieve  in  straightening 
a  slack  line. 

No  body  motion  is  needed  in  cast  or  re- 
trieve, though  the  involuntary  slight  bending 
forward  and  backward  is  not  objectionable. 
The  right  arm  from  the  elbow  up  might  as  well 
be  tied  against  the  side,  for  its  function  is 
merely  to  steady  the  wrist.  The  thumb  per- 
forms an  important  function,  too.  Do  not 
grasp  the  rod  as  you  would  an  umbrella  handle 
— as  some  anglers  do — but  keep  the  thumb 
parallel  with  the  grasp.  In  this  position  the 
thumb  helps  materially  in  stopping  the  rod  at 
the  end  of  the  back  cast,  and  in  keeping  the 
rod  at  the  proper  angle.  Do  not  cant  the  rod 
toward  the  right,  but  retrieve  and  cast  straight 
over  the  right  shoulder.  This  makes  for  ac- 
curacy. 

Of  course  the  side  cast  should  be  practiced, 
too,  for  there  are  places  where  the  overhead 
cast  cannot  be  employed,  as  in  wading  along 
a  shore  overhung  with  low  growth.  Later  on 
it  will  be  well  to  practice  casting  with  the  left 
hand.  There  are  many  times  when  one  must 
use  the   right  hand  to  help  himself  over  or 


FLY  CASTING  PRACTICE    109 

around  difficult  places,  and  when  that  hand  tires 
it  is  a  comfort  to  shift  the  work  to  the  left 
hand.  But  the  overhead  cast  is  the  proper 
one  to  master  first,  then  the  others  will  be 
learned  quickly. 

In  making  a  fishing  cast  hold  the  left  hand 
rigid;  or,  as  some  do,  hook  the  second  finger 
of  the  right  hand  over  the  line,  so  that  it  may 
be  kept  taut  and  under  perfect  control,  else  the 
fly  will  be  snapped  back  or  the  line  will  lay 
out  slack  with  a  splash.  The  same  thing  may 
occur  in  a  shoot  if  too  much  line  is  let  out, 
or  if  it  is  checked  abruptly. 

It  is  difficult  to  learn  to  shoot  the  line  until 
you  have  succeded  in  casting  forty  or  fifty  feet. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  you  do  not  get  out 
enough  of  the  belly  of  the  line  to  act  as  a 
weight,  which,  on  being  projected  by  the  spring 
of  the  rod,  shoots  forward  in  a  rolling  loop, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  24,  pulling  several  feet  of 


Fig.  24. — Rolling  Loop  of  L,ine  at  End  of  Forward  Cast 
line  with  it.  In  order  to  fix  in  your  mind  just 
how  this  is  done,  ask  a  companion  to  take  hold 


110  FISHING  TACKLE 

of  the  fly,  and  walking  alongshore,  say  fifty 
feet,  release  it  at  the  word,  when  you  begin  to 
retrieve.  If  the  back  cast  is  given  plenty  of 
time,  the  line  will  go  forward  with  enough 
force  to  pull  ten  or  more  feet  of  line  through 
the  guides,  and  shoot  the  fly  considerably 
farther  than  you  had  before  been  able  to  cast 
it.  From  this  you  will  also  understand  that  it 
is  the  resistance  of  the  water  on  the  line  in 
retrieving  that  brings  out  the  full  spring  of 
the  rod.  As  a  result  the  line  is  thrown  high 
up  behind  you  in  a  loop  just  the  reverse  of  that 
shown  in  Fig.  24.  The  common  error  is  to 
carry  the  rod  too  far  back  (Fig.  25),  the  line 


Fig.  25. — Back  Cast  in  Which  the  Line  Strikes  the  Water 
Behind. 

touching  or  lying  out  on  the  water  behind  you, 
making  "  sloppy  work "  of  the  next  forward 
cast. 

Carrying  the  rod  too  far  back  is  generally 
followed  by  starting  the  forward  cast  too  soon. 
The  line  is  not  given  time  to  straighten  behind. 
When  the   forward   cast  is   started  with   the 


FLY-CASTING  PRACTICE    111 

fly  in  position  indicated  in  Fig.  25,  the  line 
straightens  with  a  whip-like  snap,  and  often 
the  fly  is  cut  off.  But  when  the  rod  is  stopped 
correctly,  the  line  is  thrown  back  high  up,  and 
Fig.  26  illustrates  its  position  when  plenty  of 


Fig.  26. — Position  of  Line  and  Fly  at  end  of  Back  Cast, 
time  has  been  given  to  let  the  line  and  leader 
turn  over  and  begin  to  fall — the  proper  mo- 
ment to  start  the  forward  cast.  The  line  will 
then  roll  out  cleanly  and  alight  softly.  Fig. 
27  shows  how  the  line  looks  at  the  middle  of 
the  forward  cast,  the  fly  passing  over  your 
head. 


Fig.  27. — Forward  Cast. 
Granted  that  it  is  not  often  that  you  will 


112  FISHING  TACKLE 

have  occasion  to  make  fishing  casts  of  more  than 
forty  or  fifty  feet,  it  is  nevertheless  well  to  be 
able  to  cast  farther  than  that.     For  every  ten 
feet  that  you  increase  your  average  distance, 
the  difficulty  of  manipulating  rod,  line,  and  fly 
cleanly  will  increase.    To  master  these  obstacles 
and  gain  confidence  in  yourself  and  your  tackle 
is  worth  a  great  deal  more  to  you,  even  though 
you  may  never  need  to  cast  more  than  forty 
feet  in  your  fishing.    Perfect  mastery  of  a  long 
line  counts  when  you  fish  under  trees,  for  if 
you  can  control  a  long  line  in  the  open,  it  will 
be  easier  to  manipulate  a  short  line  without  get- 
ting "  hung  up."  Therefore,  practice  diligently. 
And  as  it  is  a  great  advantage  to  know  if 
you  are  progressing,  rig  up  a  line  by  means  of 
which  you  can  measure  your  casts  roughly,  and 
at  the  same  time  aim   for  precision.     Three 
wooden  disks  each  six  inches  in  diameter  will 
serve.     Coat  them  with  enamel,  so  they  will 
show  more  plainly  in  the  water  than  if  painted. 
Make  them  red,  white,  and  blue,  respectively. 
Take  an  old  fishing  line  and  measuring  off  fifty 
feet,  tie  on  a  bit  of  red  string.    Ten  feet  farther 
attach  a  piece  of  white  string,  for  sixty  feet; 
and  blue  string  at  the  seventy-foot  mark.  Wind 
the  line  on  an  old  reel,  making  the  platform 
end  fast  to  the  axle.     In  use,  reel  off  the  line, 


FLY  CASTING  PRACTICE    113 

tie  the  disks  on  at  the  proper  places,  and  stretch 
the  line  from  platform  to  shore,  or  anchor  the 
outer  end  with  a  stone.  Besides  helping  you  in 
distance  work,  the  disks  will  be  excellent  marks 
for  accuracy  casting. 

With  any  good  fly-rod  you  can  cast  seventy 
feet  or  more  if  you  will  keep  in  mind  constantly 
the  principal  points:  straighten  the  line  with 
the  left  hand,  lift  quickly,  stop  the  rod  over- 
head, give  the  back  cast  plenty  of  time,  and 
carry  the  forward  cast  through  steadily  with- 
out the  common  but  objectionable  snap  at  the 
end.  Practice  will  do  the  rest,  but  if  you  cast 
in  company  with  other  anglers,  ask  one  of  them 
to  assist  you  in  timing  the  back  cast.  If  he  will 
tell  you  when  you  carry  the  rod  too  far  back, 
and  you  will  wait  with  the  back  cast  until  he 
says,  "  Now,"  you  will  soon  succeed  in  correct- 
ing your  faults  and  in  increasing  your  distance. 
At  the  same  time  you  will  have  acquired  confi- 
dence in  yourself  and  your  tackle. 

Besides  the  overhead  cast  and  the  side  cast, 
which  is  only  a  modification  of  the  former,  it 
will  be  worth  while  to  learn  the  switch  cast. 
In  fishing  it  is  often  impossible  to  employ  the 
back  cast,  because  of  a  high  bank  or  trees  be- 
hind you.  The  switch  cast  overcomes  these 
difficulties.    Learn  it  by  all  means. 


114  FISHING  TACKLE 

Make  a  cast,  and  instead  of  lifting  the  line, 
carry  the  rod  up  slowly  to  the  vertical,  then 
go  forward  and  downward  with  speed  and 
force.  The  line  will  be  pulled  toward  you  on 
the  water  until  the  fly  is  say  fifteen  feet  distant, 
then  projected  forward  with  a  snap  that  will 
carry  the  fly  clear  of  the  water,  to  alight  cleanly 
farther  and  farther  at  every  cast.  The  style 
is  just  the  reverse  of  ordinary  casting.  Retrieve 
slowly,  cast  quickly,  and  repeat  until  the  desired 
distance  is  attained.  At  no  time  need  rod,  line, 
or  fly  pass  more  than  three  feet  behind  you. 

Dry-fly  casting  is  so  fascinating  and  so  use- 
ful that  every  angler  should  practice  it.  It 
differs  in  style  from  wet-fly  casting  in  that  the 
water  is  not  touched  by  fly  or  line  until  sufficient 
distance  has  been  attained  to  place  the  fly  at  a 
certain  point.  Start  with  a  short  line  and  cast 
up  and  out,  back  and  forward,  letting  a  little 
line  out  with  each  false  cast,  until  sufficient  line 
is  out,  then  cast  lightly  on  the  water  and  let 
the  fly  float.  Retrieve  very  gently,  and  make 
several  false  casts,  to  dry  the  fly  and  extend  the 
line,  before  making  another  fishing  cast.  The 
back  and  forward  casts  are  both  made  in  about 
equal  time,  and  care  is  taken  to  prevent  the  fly 
from  touching  the  water  on  the  retrieve.  It 
will  assist  you  if  you  will  use  your  disks  as 


FLY-CASTING  PRACTICE    115 

targets.  Start  with  the  line  the  length  of  the 
rod,  making  several  false  casts,  then  a  scoring 
cast  at  the  first  mark;  three  or  four  dry  casts, 
then  score  at  the  second  mark,  and  so  on.  This 
is  pretty  work,  and  good  fishing  practice. 

Five  targets  are  used  in  dry-fly  accuracy  con- 
tests, each  one  a  thirty-inch  circle.  Wooden 
barrel  hoops  attached  to  a  line  will  serve.  The 
standard  distances  for  light  rods  are  20,  27^, 
35,  42^,  and  50  feet.  Three  scoring  casts 
are  made  at  each  target,  with  at  least  one  false 
cast  in  between.  A  cast  inside  the  circle  counts 
o,  or  perfect;  within  one  foot  of  the  circle,  1 
demerit;  within  two  feet,  2  demerits,  and  so  on; 
If  the  fly  fails  to  float,  1  additional  demerit. 
If  you  score  60  demerits,  divide  60  by  15,  the 
number  of  casts,  giving  4;  deducting  4  from 
100  gives  the  percentage,  96. 

A  few  words  regarding  rods  may  not  be 
out  of  place  here.  For  all-round  trout  fishing 
a  rod  of  five  or  six  ounces  is  perhaps  best,  and 
the  favorite  length  is  9  or  9^2  feet;  but  quicker 
rods  are  now  used  than  formerly,  though  it  is 
possible  to  carry  stiffness  to  extremes.  There 
are  few  prettier  rods  to  fish  the  fly  with  than 
those  having  slow  action,  and  although  the  stif- 
fer  rods  are  better  for  windward  work  and  for 
fishing  the  floating  fly,  if  you  can  have  only  one 


116  FISHING  TACKLE 

rod,  see  that  it  has  good  action  clear  down  to 
the  hand. 

The  five-ounce  tournament  rod  is  a  splendid 
one  for  heavy  streams  not  much  overgrown, 
but  as  these  rods  are  generally  ten  feet  long, 
they  are  not  so  handy  for  brooks  as  the  three- 
and  four-ounce  rods  of  8  or  9  feet.  For  dry-fly 
work  the  four-ounce,  9-foot  tournament  rod  is 
ideal.  It  works  best  with  a  tapered  D  line. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TOURNAMENT  LINES 

THE  fishing  practice  casting  of  which  I 
have  written  leads  naturally  to  tourna- 
ment casting;  or,  in  other  words,  to 
competition,  between  two  friends,  it  may  be, 
or  among  members  of  a  fishing  club.  When 
two  persons  practice  together  a  third  frequently 
puts  in  appearance,  and  ere  long  the  fascination 
of  the  pastime  is  discussed,  with  the  result  that 
a  club  springs  into  being.  No  costly  equipment 
or  grounds  being  necessary,  it  is  not  difficult 
to  find  a  pond  or  pool  suitable  for  practice, 
and  plenty  of  willing  hands  to  put  together 
platform,  marking  line,  and  targets. 

Fishing  rods  are  used  at  first,  and  then  one 
by  one  the  members  procure  tournament  rods 
and  lines.  As  in  all  other  games,  the  rules 
being  liberal  enough  to  admit  anything  with- 
in reason,  it  follows  that  no  one  wishes  to  be 
outclassed  if  good  tackle  will  prevent  it. 

In  distance  trout  fly-casting,  rods  of  several 
types  are  recognized.    The  so-called  heavy  rod 

117 


118  FISHING  TACKLE 

is  limited  only  as  to  length — ny2  feet;  but 
it  must  of  course  be  held  in  one  hand  only. 
This  is  the  most  popular  rod.  Its  weight  ranges 
from  9  to  13  ounces,  the  average  being  about 
10  ounces. 

The  five-ounce  rod  comes  next.  If  it  has  a 
metal  reel-seat  it  may  weigh  just  under  sH 
ounces.  There  is  no  restriction  as  to  length, 
but  10  feet  is  the  popular  maximum  length. 
This  is  the  "  most  rod  "  of  any,  for  its  ounces. 
The  fittings  are  made  light,  so  that  all  possible 
weight  may  be  put  into  the  cane.  It  is  used 
more  and  more  every  year,  both  for  fishing  and 
contest  casting.  It  is  used  for  wet-fly  distance; 
for  dry-fly  distance;  for  dry-fly  accuracy;  and 
for  wet-fly  accuracy. 

The  4^4 -ounce  rod — a  distinctively  Eastern 
rod — is  coming  into  more  general  use.  Perhaps 
it  will  be  the  all-round  rod  of  the  future.  Nine 
feet  is  the  popular  length,  and  so  powerful  is 
this  little  rod  that  it  is  frequently  called  upon 
to  handle  the  very  heavy  lines  suited  to  10- 
ounce  rods — lines  that  weigh  almost  half  as 
much  as  the  rod.  So  far  this  rod  has  been 
used  only  in  wet-fly  distance  casting,  and  in  dry- 
and  wet-fly  trout  fishing. 

Several  years  ago  the  National  Association 
was  asked  to,  and  did  pass,  a  rule  limiting  the 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       119 

salmon  rod  length  to  15  feet.  The  object  was 
to  fix  on  a  reasonable  length,  and  to  encourage 
salmon  anglers  to  'use  thejr  fishing  rods  in 
contests.  Until  then  one  could  go  into  a  salmon 
event  with  a  bean  pole,  if  he  cared  to,  or  use 
one  of  the  ridiculous  18-  or  20-  foot  English 
rods,  weighing  several  pounds.  That  the  15- 
foot  rule  is  a  good  one  has  been  proved  on 
several  occasions,  when  casters  have,  with  rods 
of  this  length,  exceeded  the  best  records  ever 
made  by  Britishers  with  rods  of  any  length. 
In  fact,  our  cousins  across  the  water  have 
never  made  much  of  a  showing  in  distance  fly- 
casting.  Perhaps  this  accounts  for  the  efforts 
some  of  them  make  to  poke  fun  at  our  tourna- 
ment fly-rods. 

That  salmon  casting  is  not  a  giant's  game 
is  shown  by  the  excellent  records  made  by  men 
far  under  the  average  in  height  and  weight. 
But  salmon  rods  are  costly,  and  few  individuals 
care  to  purchase  rods  solely  for  use  in  two  or 
three  contests  yearly.  Where  clubs  furnish  these 
rods,  however,  as  some  do,  the  contests  are 
always  well  patronized.  These  rods  weigh 
from  24  to  28  ounces. 

The  five-ounce  rod  being  an  excellent  one  to 
start  with,  let  us  see  what  you  can  do  with  it. 

The  first  thing  to  be  provided  is  a  line.    You 


120  FISHING  TACKLE 

can  cast  during  your  novitiate  with  a  regular 
double  tapered  line,  but  there  is  something 
better.  The  fishing  line  is  thirty  yards  long. 
As  the  taper  on  each  end  is  from  twelve  to  eigh- 
teen feet,  the  total  length  must  be  made  up  by 
a  level  middle,  or  belly.  With  a  line  of  this 
sort  you  can  work  out  just  so  far,  and  there  you 
are  stopped  because  the  belly  of  the  line  is  too 
heavy  to  shoot. 

The  logical  thing  to  do  is  to  cut  the  line, 
splice  a  length  of  small  level  line  on  to  the  belly, 
for  a  back  (or  shooting)  line,  and  make  the 
front  taper  longer,  by  splicing  a  few  feet  of  level 
line  on  the  end. 

So  far,  so  good;  but  what  must  be  the  propor- 
tions of  leader,  taper,  belly,  back  line?  you  ask. 
If  I  knew  just  how  far  you  could  cast  three 
times  out  of  four,  I  could  give  you  exact  form- 
ulae; but  as  I  do  not,  the  only  thing  left  is  to 
strike  an  average.  In  handicapping  contestants 
it  is  customary  in  some  clubs  to  place  one  who 
has  no  record  in  the  seventy-five  foot  class; 
that  is,  on  the  safe  assumption  that  he  will  cast 
that  far,  at  least,  with  a  little  practice.  Make 
up  a  line  based  on  that  rule. 

With  this  line  you  can  work  out  until  the 
rear  end  of  the  belly  is  in  your  hand  or  on  the 
rod,  but  not  farther  up  than  the  middle  joint. 
When  that  point  is  reached  you  must  either 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       121 

shoot  or  strip  in,  for  you  cannot  lift  the  line 
if  the  belly  runs  off  the  rod.  You  measure,  then, 
from  where  you  stand  to  the  sixty-five-foot 
mark,  thus  allowing  ten  feet  on  the  safe  side  of 
seventy-five  feet. 

We  will  say  that  the  leader  is  to  be  six  feet 
long,  for  a  starter.  Twenty-five  feet  is  a  good 
length  for  the  front  taper.  The  proportions 
are,  then: 

Leader  6  feet 

Front  taper  25  feet 

Belly    34  feet 

65  feet 

This  is  the  key  to  an  endless  number  of  com- 
binations that  you  may  work  out  as  you  become 
more  proficient — measure  from  where  you  stand 
to  the  point  where  you  can  cast  regularly.  If 
you  increase  the  length  of  the  taper,  decrease 
the  length  of  the  belly,  and  vice  versa ;  it  being 
understood,  of  course,  that  you  will  add  to 
the  length  of  one  or  both  as  your  skill  is  aug- 
mented. But  as  thirty-five  yards  is  a  good 
length,  add  forty  feet  of  fine  level  line  to  your 
casting  line. 

If  you  know  how  long  each  taper  of  your 
fishing  line  is,  you  will  be  able  to  splice  a  piece 
on  one  end  long  enough  to  make  that  taper 
twenty-five  feet.     If  not,  try  a  piece  ten  feet 


122  FISHING  TACKLE 

long,  then  measure  back  sixty-five  feet,  cut  the 
line  there  and  splice  on  the  back  line,  which 
should  be  a  good  piece  of  level  dressed  line, 
But  as  you  will  soon  u  out-grow  "  this  first  line, 
do  not  cut  up  a  good  fishing  line,  but  purchase 
a  regulation  tournament  line  or  make  up  one 
from  several  lengths  of  the  proper  sizes. 

The  tournament  lines  are  made  in  various 
ways,  but  two  of  the  most  frequently  used  are 
like  this :  One  tapers  up  almost  the  full  length 
to  the  center,  then  tapers  down  to  the  other 
end;  the  other  has  a  long  front  taper,  a  belly 
ranging  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet,  then  tapers 
down  rapidly  to  a  thin,  level  back  line.  This 
type  of  line  has  proved  to  be  the  best  one  for 
distance  casting. 

If  you  are  fond  of  experimenting,  make  up 
a  line  from  pieces  of  level  dressed  line,  which 
you  can  purchase  in  twenty-five-yard  lengths, 
splicing  the  various  pieces  together.  In  this  it 
is  of  course  desirable  to  make  few  splices,  hence 
the  tapers  will  not  be  nicely  graduated,  but 
this  will  not  greatly  matter  in  practice.  If  the 
thirty-four-foot  belly  is  size  B,  splice  fifteen  feet 
of  D  on  the  front  end,  and  a  ten-foot  length 
of  F  on  D.  Then  on  the  back  end  of  the  belly 
splice  on  five  feet  of  D  and  the  forty-foot  back 
line.      Four   splices    only   will   be    needed,    as 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       123 

against  twice  as  many  if  the  tapers  be  graduated 
nicely. 

In  making  splices,  fray  out  the  ends  to  be 
joined,  using  a  needle  or  any  pointed  instrument. 
Pick  the  strands  apart  carefully  for  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch,  then  separate  them  into 
two  equal  parts  as  shown  in  Fig.   28.     Join 


Fig.  28. — Frayed  Ends  of  Line  Ready  for  Splicing. 
the  pieces,  but  do  not  push  them  together  tight, 
as  a  hard,  thick  splice  will  be  the  result.    The 
four  ends  will  overlap  sufficiently  to  make  a 
splice  that  will  not  pull  apart. 

Wax  a  length  of  silk  thread,  and  commencing 
at  the  center  of  the  splice,  secure  one  end  of 
the  thread  against  slipping  (Fig.  29)  while  you 


Fig.  29.— Winding  the   Splice. 

wind  one-half   of  the   splice   with   the   other. 


124  FISHING  TACKLE 

When  the  frayed  ends  of  the  line  are  covered, 
lay  a  loop  of  thread  along  the  line,  wind  over 
loop  a  half-dozen  turns,  then  pull  end  of  silk 
under  and  wind  the  opposite  end  in  the  same 
fashion.  Roll  the  finished  splice  under  a  ruler, 
to  make  it  smooth,  and  apply  two  coats  of 
shellac.  A  splice  of  this  sort  will  last  a  long 
time  if  shellacked  when  it  shows  signs  of  wear. 
It  is  smooth,  and  with  practice  you  will  be  able 
to  make  it  almost  as  small  as  the  line  itself. 

In  casting  a  spliced  line  will  last  a  long 
time  if  you  do  not  strip  in  line  while  the  rod 
is  held  upright.  Always  keep  the  rod  down  in 
stripping.  Otherwise  the  waterproof  dressing 
will  be  damaged  at  the  rod  top  every  time 
the  line  is  pulled  sharply  enough  to  bend  it  at 
an  angle. 

If  you  find  that  the  taper  of  your  spliced 
line  is  not  what  it  should  be,  in  your  opinion, 
you  can  take  the  line  apart  and  change  it  until 
it  suits  you;  or  if  the  front  end  becomes  worn, 
discard  a  section  and  put  in  a  new  one,  make 
the  taper  longer  or  shorter,  etc.  Splices  are 
not  difficult  to  make,  but  if  you  have  a  fly-tyer's 
vise  it  is  advisable  to  use  it  in  holding  the  line. 
Better  winding  will  result. 

For  splicing,  and  for  all  rod  and  tackle  re- 
pairs, a  bit  of  wax  is  a  necessity.     It  is  easily 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       125 

made,  as  follows:  Melt  together  over  a  slow 
fire  in  a  small  tin  dish  or  cup,  one  ounce  of 
rosin  and  twenty  grains  of  beeswax.  Stir  with 
a  stick,  then  add  sixty  grains  of  fresh,  unsalted 
lard,  or  lacking  this,  an  equal  quantity  of  mut- 
ton tallow.  Stir  for  several  minutes,  then  pour 
the  mixture  into  a  basin  of  cold  water.  Rub  a 
little  vaseline  on  your  fingers,  to  prevent  the  wax 
from  sticking  to  them  at  first,  take  it  out  of 
the  water  and  pull  and  work  it  until  it  becomes 
cream  color,  then  put  it  in  a  piece  of  chamois 
skin,  and  it  is  ready  for  use. 

Theodore  Gordon,  who  has  had  a  very  wide 
experience  in  fishing  and  fly-tying,  has  given 
me  the  following  recipe  for  silk  wax.  I  have 
found  it  excellent.  The  variations  are  for 
different  seasons: 

No.  i.  Rosin  2  ounces,  lard  jounce, 
paraffin  wax  i  drachm. 

No.  2.  Rosin  2  ounces,  paraffin  wax  %- 
ounce,  lard  i  drachm. 

No.  3.  Rosin  2  ounces,  paraffin  wax  %- 
ounce,  lard  2  scruples. 

No.  4.  Rosin  2  ounces,  paraffin  wax  y^- 
ounce,  lard  ^2  -drachm. 

Work  while  under  cold  water  and  wrap  in 
chamois  skin. 

Do  not  wind  your  spliced  line — or  any  other 


126  FISHING  TACKLE 

— on  a  fishing  reel,  but  use  something  larger. 
In  tournament  casting  a  great  many  anglers 
use  a  "  reel "  (Fig.  30)  turned  from  a  piece  of 


Fig.  30. — Reel  for  Tournament  Fly  Lines. 
Any  wood  worker  can  turn  this  from  a  piece  of  poplar 
or  white  pine.  Its  diameter  is  9  inches;  thickness,  1  inch; 
width  of  rim,  1*4  inches;  depth  of  groove,  Y  inch;  width 
of  groove,  Y,  inch.  It  will  hold  any  fly  line.  Protect  it 
from  warping  and  checking  with  two  coats  of  shellac.  A 
loop  of  cord  is  attached  to  end  of  line,  then  looped  over 
the  loop,  pulled  taut,  then  the  casting  line  rolled  on. 

I-  or  1 J4 -inch  white  pine  or  poplar.  This  is 
simply  a  disk  seven  or  eight  inches  in  diameter 
with  a  groove  cut  in  its  edge  and  the  center 
cut  out,  leaving  a  sort  of  grooved  hoop.  It 
will  hold  a  large  quantity  of  the  heaviest  line. 
With  it  the  line  is  reeled  in  very  rapidly.  Its 
principal  advantage  is  that  its  diameter  being 
large,  the  line  is  not  cramped,  but  comes  off 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       127 

straight  and  runs  through  the  guides  like  a  lead 
wire. 

The  chief  fault  with  these  wooden  reels  is 
that  they  split  readily  if  dropped.  In  casting 
about  for  something  as  light  but  stronger  I  hit 
on  the  following  plan. 

Two  pieces  of  sheet  aluminum,  7x7x11/16- 
inches  were  purchased.  On  each  one  I  scribed 
two  circles,  one  7  inches,  the  other  5^  inches 
in  diameter.  They  were  easily  cut  out  with  a 
hacksaw,  the  inner  edges  smoothed  with  file 
and  emery  cloth,  the  outer  edges  with  a  very 
small  plane.  Two  feet  of  thin  brass  tubing* 
and  three  feet  of  soft  brass  wire  just  the  size 
to  fit  the  tubing  were  then  procured.  The  tub- 
ing was  sawed  into  ^-inch  lengths,  and  the 
wire  into  J^-inch  lengths.  I  then  marked  the 
inner  edge  of  one  of  the  aluminum  circlets  in 
sixteen  places,  evenly  spaced,  and  clamping  them 
together  in  a  vise,  bored  holes  through  both  at 
the  marks,  and  just  far  enough  away  from  the 
edge  so  that  the  rivets  would  not  pull  out. 

Taking  the  circlets  out  of  the  vise,  they  were 
placed,  one  on  each  end  of  a  piece  of  tubing, 
a  piece  of  wire  pushed  through  all,  and  both 
ends  riveted.  This  was  done  all-round,  the  ends 
of  rivets  smoothed  off,  and  I  had  a  reel  that  is 
practically    indestructible,    but    which    weighs 


128  FISHING  TACKLE 

about  four  ounces.  Being  open  on  two  edges, 
the  line  dries  nicely  on  the  reel,  and  it  will  hold 
a  great  deal  of  line.  By  the  use  of  the  pieces 
of  tubing  and  wire  I  was  saved  the  labor  of 
making  rivets  from  solid  wire,  but  the  reel  is 
strong  and  neat,  and  I  have  several  of  them 
that  have  seen  hard  use  for  a  number  of  years. 
They  are  made  to  fit  one  within  the  other. 

After  using  these  reels  for  some  time, 
William  Mills  &  Son  asked  permission  to  copy 
them,  and  they  put  out  reels  that  are  of  course 
far  superior  to  mine,  as  theirs  are  made  from 
spun  aluminum,  practically  in  one  piece.  They 
are  made  up  in  sets  of  two  or  three,  one  fitting 
within  the  other. 

In  stringing  up  the  rod,  in  casting,  the  reel 
is  placed  on  the  platform.  The  line  is  unrolled 
from  the  reel  as  one  would  do  with  a  tape 
measure  but  never  pulled  off  in  coils,  as  this 
would  snarl  it. 

The  calibers  of  fishing  lines,  as  made  by  the 
different  firms,  are  almost  hopelessly  confused. 
Some  firms  use  what  seems  to  be  the  original 
method — of  employing  the  first  nine  letters  of 
the  alphabet — and  others  use  nine  figures.  Then 
some  reverse  the  order,  so  that  a  No.  6  line,  say, 
is  larger  than  a  No.  I.  Then  again  lines  are 
numbered  arbitrarily,  so  that  a  No.  3  and  a 


Photograph  by  George  A.  Irwin 

Bait- Casting  for  Bass  in  Florida 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       129 

No.  269  are  alike  in  caliber  but  different  in  style 
of  braiding  or  finish. 

An  interesting  paragraph  on  the  subject  of 
line  calibers  was  given  by  Theophilus  South 
in  his  "  Fly- Fishers'  Textbook,"  (London, 
1841),  as  follows: 

"Salmon  Reel  Lines. — Now,  as  to  these,  they 
should  be  from  sixty  to  eighty  yards  long — 
you  require  the  latter  length  especially  where 
salmon  incline  to  run  much,  and  from  your  con- 
tiguity to  trees  or  bushes  on  the  bank,  you  can- 
not follow  him  or  change  your  position.  Another 
advantage  is  that  as  the  end  which  is  so  much 
on  the  water  and  so  constantly  passing  through 
the  rings  of  the  rod  in  shortening  and  lengthen- 
ing your  throw  can  never  be  depended  on  for 
soundness  above  one  season  at  most,  removing 
the  damaged  part,  sufficient  length  still  remains 
for  ordinary  rivers  and  places,  while  a  joint  or 
splice  in  the  line  should  always  be  avoided,  if 
feasible. 

"  The  material,  I  repeat,  should  be  silk  and 
hair  twisted,  and  the  end,  for  about  twelve 
yards,  may  taper  slightly;  though  perhaps  it  is 
as  well  to  have  it  of  uniform  substance  through- 
out, of  about  the  thickness  of  the  'D  '  in  the 
third  octave  of  your  sister's  harp  (to  measure 
which,  borrow  her  string  gauge),  or  thinner 


130  FISHING  TACKLE 

than  a  new  shilling,  which  is  strong  enough  for 
any  salmon  anywhere,  provided  it  is  used  skil- 
fully. Many  old  and  experienced  salmon  fishers 
adopt  much  stouter,  yet  I  prefer  fine  fishing,  and 
am  ready,  for  a  wager  to  kill  any  fish  under  fifty 
pounds  in  a  tolerable  situation  with  the  sub- 
stance I  allude  to.  It  will  bear  at  least  eighteen 
pounds  dead  weight,  and  perhaps  more. 

11  Trout  reel  lines  should  be  of  the  same  ma- 
terial; namely,  twisted  hair  and  silk,  but  nec- 
essarily much  thinner,  and  from  thirty  to  fifty 
yards  in  length,  or  even  longer  for  lake  fishing, 
where  heavy  trout  are  expected.  However, 
thirty  yards  is  quite  enough  for  a  light  trout 
rod.  They  must  taper  gradually  for  the  last 
eight  or  ten  yards  to  the  end,  where,  in  sub- 
stance, they  should  not  exceed  the  first  '  D '  on 
the  aforesaid  harp  guage,  or  very  thick  netting 
silk,  while  the  stouter  end  should  be  about  equal 
to  the  second  '  D  \" 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  been  collecting 
data  on  the  subject  of  line  calibers,  and  in  my 
own  work  I  follow  these  sizes: 


Number  Inch  Number  Inch 

No.  2  or  o/o 065  E  038 

A  060  F  034 

B  056  G  030 

C  052  H 026 

D  045  I 021 


TOURNAMENT  LINES       131 

These  sizes  have  been  compared  with  those 
employed  by  a  very  large  number  of  British, 
Scotch,  and  American  makers  and  dealers.  The 
average  variation  is  so  slight  that  they  have 
been  found  very  satisfactory. 

To  assist  those  who  do  not  possess  microme- 
ter calipers,  but  have  access  to  the  standard  wire 
guage,  the  following  table  may  be  of  interest. 
It  is  that  adopted  by  Brown  &  Sharpe,  and  is 
known  as  the  American  wire  guage. 

Number                          Inch  Number                          Inch 

14 064      20    031 

15 057      21    028 

16 050     22 025 

17 045      23 022 

18 040     24 020 

19    035 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TOURNAMENT  FLY"CASTING 

NOW  we  are  ready  to  commence  casting. 
String  up  the  five-ounce  rod,  but  place 
the  reel  behind  you  on  the  platform  at 
your  left,  and  after  unreeling  all  the  line,  coil 
it  back,  so  that  it  will  render  freely  through 
your  left  hand  and  the  guides.  Stand  with  your 
right  foot  forward,  and  make  it  a  habit  to  move 
your  feet  only  when  necessary,  and  then  with 
due  care  for  the  line  on  the  platform.  It  is  an 
old  joke  with  casters  that  a  line  will  not  shoot 
well  when  you  are  standing  on  it! 

Make  a  couple  of  casts,  working  the  line  out 
thirty  or  forty  feet.  In  the  next  cast  lift  the 
line  smartly  the  instant  that  it  touches  the  water, 
giving  it  no  time  to  "  drown."  The  left  hand 
assists  at  the  same  time  by  straightening  the 
line  on  the  water,  so  that  it  is  moving  toward 
you  as  you  begin  to  retrieve.  These  are  very 
important  first  steps,  and  should  be  practiced 
diligently.    Keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  by  pull- 

132 


TOURNAMENT  FLY-CASTING  133 

ing  the  line  in  with  the  left  hand  you  put  the  full 
strength  of  the  rod  into  lifting  a  tight  line.  Re- 
member, too,  that  you  cannot  lift  a  long  line 
if  you  wait  until  it  sinks,  or  drowns. 

In  picking  up  quickly  and  in  stopping  the  rod 
when  it  reaches  the  vertical,  you  will  be  able  to 
keep  the  line  high  up  in  the  back  cast,  and  this 
will  give  the  line  plenty  of  time  to  straighten 
and  go  forward  without  touching  anything,  The 
higher  the  back  cast,  the  more  time  you  can 
give  it — and  you  will  seldom  wait  too  long. 
When  the  line  pulls  hard,  start  the  forward 
cast,  carrying  it  through  steadily  but  without 
snap,  stopping  the  rod  just  above  the  horizontal. 
At  the  same  time  let  a  little  line  run  through 
the  guides.  Then  pull  in,  lift  with  a  vim,  and 
wait  patiently  for  the  pull  behind.  On  the  next 
cast,  if  you  feel  the  small  line  in  your  hand,  let 
the  line  run,  and  do  not  retrieve.  We  will  call 
this  a  scoring  cast. 

In  shortening  line  you  can  strip  in  several 
yards,  then  lift,  but  in  a  contest  this  wastes 
time,  and  when  you  have  only  five  or  eight  min- 
utes in  which  to  do  your  best  casting,  every  sec- 
ond is  valuable.  Therefore,  strip  in  ten  or  fif- 
teen feet,  then  make  a  strong  switch  cast,  fol- 
lowed by  a  quick  lift.  If  the  cast  that  follows 
be  a  good  one,  and  the  line  pulls  nicely  in  the 


134  FISHING  TACKLE 

back  cast,  shoot  for  a  scoring  cast.  Do  not 
hurry,  take  plenty  of  time,  but  do  not  waste 
any  of  it  trying  to  lift  too  much  line.  It  is  bet- 
ter policy  to  try  to  make  one  scoring  cast  per 
minute.  The  fault  most  common  to  casters  is 
too  great  haste.  While  the  switch  cast  helps 
materially  in  "  getting  under"  a  long  line,  it 
should  be  practiced  often,  for  it  tires  the  wrist 
very  much  more  than  does  the  overhead  cast. 

In  tournament  casting  it  is  necessary  to  de- 
part from  your  fishing  style  and  put  the  entire 
arm  into  service.  In  the  forward  cast  you  bend 
forward  slightly  and  carry  the  right  arm  as  far 
out  as  possible.  Then  in  retrieving  straighten 
up,  pull  in  all  the  line  you  can  manage  with  the 
left  hand,  and  carry  the  right  hand  high  above 
you,  but  not  far  enough  to  let  the  rod  go  back 
more  than  five  degrees  beyond  the  vertical.  It 
will  of  course  spring  back  with  the  line,  but  ask 
a  friend  to  coach  you,  to  assist  you  in  learning 
the  difficult  feat  of  stopping  the  rod  as  it  must 
be  stopped  if  you  are  to  become  a  distance 
caster.  It  is  very  difficult  to  do  this,  for  it  puts 
severe  strain  on  the  thumb  and  wrist,  but  you 
will  see  the  advantage  if  you  will  watch  a  caster 
who  frequently  strikes  the  tip  of  his  rod  on  the 
platform  behind  him,  as  some  do  at  first. 

It  is  considered  very  bad  form  to  touch  the 


TOURNAMENT  FLY-CASTING  135 

water  on  the  back  cast  with  line  or  leader.  In 
addition  to  this,  to  touch  or  strike  on  the  back 
cast  ruins  the  forward  cast,  and  what  is  worse, 
it  is  possible  to  smash  the  tip  or  middle  joint  of 
the  rod  by  lifting  the  line  when  it  drops  on  the 
water  behind  you. 

It  will  assist  you  in  learning  to  stop  if  you  will 
practice  with  a  rod  having  a  long  grasp.  Push 
the  butt  inside  your  sleeve  and  cast  with  rigid 
arm.  Stop  arm  at  the  right  place  and  note  the 
difference ;  the  rod  will  not  go  back,  it  being  held 
by  your  sleeve.  This  is  not  permitted  in  contests, 
and  it  is  well  to  use  the  rod  just  as  it  comes 
from  the  maker,  but  trying  this  method  will  do 
no  harm  in  practice. 

At  first  you  will  find  the  line  and  leader 
troublesome.  You  will  tie  both  in  innumerable 
knots  and  end  perhaps,  in  a  hopeless  tangle. 
As  the  loop  of  the  line  and  the  leader  pass  each 
other  frequently  in  a  series  of  casts,  it  is  not  re- 
markable that  one  should  foul  the  other.  The 
remedy  is  consistent  practice,  carrying  the  rod 
forward  and  back  straight  over  the  right 
shoulder.  Attempting  to  lift  too  much  line  may 
snarl  it,  for  sooner  or  later  you  will  lose  control 
of  it,  and  in  the  threshing  that  generally  fol- 
lows, a  bad  tangle  will  end  the  matter. 

Veterans  frequently  mention  the  time  when,  as 


136  FISHING  TACKLE 

they  say,  they  were  consistent  in  lifting  ninety 
feet  of  line  for  every  cast  of  eighty  feet !  Learn 
to  shoot,  as  that  is  the  secret  of  all  distant  cast- 
ing. With  a  properly  balanced  tournament  line 
it  is  seldom  necessary  to  lift  more  than  eighty 
feet  of  line  in  order  to  make  a  cast  of  one  hun- 
dred feet,  and  it  is  possible  at  times  to  shoot 
the  line  much  farther  than  twenty  feet.  Work 
out  until  the  small  back  line  is  reached,  then  hold 
the  line  there,  wait  for  a  good  back  cast,  and 
shoot.    Strip  in  and  try  again. 

One  of  the  chief  faults  in  distance  casting 
is  the  putting  of  too  much  strength  into  the  for- 
ward cast.  Too  many  casters  try  to  "  slam  "  the 
line,  and  this  slam  ends  with  a  snap  that  carries 
the  rod  into  or  near  the  water,  effectually  kill- 
ing the  shoot.  They  have  no  point  of  aim,  as 
the  archers  say.  Practice  until  you  can  keep  this 
in  mind  at  every  cast.  Fix  your  attention  on 
some  distant  object  that  appears  to  be  about 
thirty  feet  higher  than  the  ioo-foot  mark.  Aim 
for  that  point,  and  never  let  the  rod  tip  go 
below  it.  If  you  end  the  cast  with  a  snap,  the 
tip  of  the  rod  vibrates  violently  at  the  very  in- 
stant when  it  should  stop  dead  in  order  to  per- 
mit the  line  to  slide  freely  through  the  guides 
in  the  shoot. 

Look  at  the   matter   from    another   angle. 


TOURNAMENT  FLY-CASTING  137 

It  is  the  perfect  back  cast  that  makes  for  a  long 
shoot,  and  when  the  back  cast  is  right,  you  will 
be  surprised  to  see  how  far  you  can  shoot  if 
you  will  merely  carry  the  rod  forward  to  the 
stopping  point — ulay  it  down,"  as  the  saying 
goes.  In  eight  minutes  casting  time  in  an  event, 
it  is  a  severe  penalty  to  be  compelled  to  devote 
five  minutes  to  replacing  lost  flies — and  you  are 
sure  to  snap  the  fly  off  if  you  hurry  with  the  back 
cast  and  slam  the  fine.  Again,  let  the  rod  do 
the  work;  that  is  what  is  was  made  for.  It  will 
lift  the  heavy  line,  stop  it,  and  start  it  going 
again.  Merely  keep  the  line  going  until  gravity 
stops  the  farther  progress  of  the  belly,  and  the 
force  that  has  been  properly  applied  will  carry 
the  taper  and  leader  on  and  out,  to  turn  over  in 
a  graceful  loop,  and  lay  out  straight  on  the 
water. 

Hold  the  line  until  the  rod  reaches  the  stop- 
ping point,  then  let  it  run.  Too  many  casters 
let  go  of  the  line  before  the  completion  of  the 
cast.  The  result  is  that  line  and  leader  fall 
into  a  heap,  or  the  leader  doubles  back.  The 
forward  cast  with  fly-  and  bait-rod  is  very  much 
alike.  With  the  latter  you  carry  the  cast 
through  steadily,  raise  the  thumb  and  let  the 
line  run  out.  With  the  fly-rod  you  release  the 
line  when  the  belly  begins  to  pull. 


138  FISHING  TACKLE 

Long  tapers  are  popular  for  distance  cast- 
ing, but  it  is  not  advisable  to  go  to  extremes 
in  this  matter.  In  a  place  where  the  air  is  dry, 
a  much  longer  taper  may  be  used  successfully 
than  in  places  where  the  air  is  heavy  and  humid. 
Twenty-five  feet  is  a  good  length;  thirty  feet 
can  be  managed  by  the  average  caster;  thirty- 
five  feet  will  suit  one  who  is  in  the  ninety-foot 
class ;  and  forty  feet  is  about  all  that  any  caster 
will  be  able  to  master  in  heavy  air.  Too  often 
the  taper  is  slow  at  the  point  and  quick  at  the 
back  end — next  to  the  belly.  It  should  be  just 
the  reverse,  for  if  it  is  spun  out  too  fine  it  will 
not  straighten,  particularly  if  there  is  a  side 
wind,  or  eddying  currents  of  air  near  the  water. 

Experiment  with  leaders  until  you  are  sure 
that  you  can  always  straighten  one  of  a  certain 
length.  If  this  is  twelve  feet  long,  keep  an 
eight-foot  leader  in  reserve  for  an  unfavorable 
day.  The  best  tapered  leaders  you  can  afford 
are  none  too  good  for  distance  casting.  If  you 
cannot  straighten  a  short  leader,  cut  a  foot 
off  the  line  taper  and  try  again.  Failing,  cut 
off  six  inches  more.  Go  slow  with  this,  and 
try  it  on  different  days  before  spoiling  the 
taper. 

It  is  a  common  fault  to  use  a  line  that  is  too 
heavy  for  the  rod.     B  is  heavy  enough  for  the 


TOURNAMENT  FLY-CASTING  139 

five-ounce  rod  if  the  belly  is  thirty  to  thirty-five 
feet  in  length.  A  thirty-five-yard  B  tournament 
line  should  weigh  iji  ounces  to  ij^  ounces.  For 
dry-fly  distance  casting  with  the  five-ounce  rod, 
and  for  wet-fly  distance  casting  with  the  four- 
ounce  rod,  a  C  line  weighing  *%  ounces  is  about 
right.  Less  belly  and  taper  are  needed  in  the 
last-named  line. 

What  has  been  said  of  casting  with  the  five- 
ounce  rod  applies  both  to  the  four-ounce  and 
the  unlimited  rod.  The  latter  is  generally  11^2 
feet  long,  and  is  fitted  with  a  long  grasp.  Bare 
your  arm  and  lay  it  down  on  a  two-foot  rule. 
Measure  from  the  end  of  the  thumb  to  a  point 
on  the  muscles  of  the  forearm  2}4  inches  from 
the  point  of  the  elbow.  This  will  determine 
the  proper  length  of  the  grasp,  say  from  13  to 
15  inches.     (See  Fig.  31.) 


Fig.  31. — Position  of  Arm  and  Hand  in  Casting  With 
the  Unlimited  Rod. 

In  selecting  a  rod,  see  that  it  has  good  action 
clear  down  to  the  hand.  If  it  is  too  stiff 
it  will  force  you  to  cast  rapidly,  and  this  you 


140  FISHING  TACKLE 

cannot  do  with  a  heavy  rod.  The  middle  joint 
should  be  strong,  and  the  tip  of  slow  rather 
than  quick  taper.  Of  the  two,  a  rod  with  stiff 
butt,  and  one  with  apparently  too  much  butt 
action,  choose  the  latter.  Give  no  heed  to  the 
weight  of  the  rod,  save  that  it  should  in  a 
measure  correspond  with  your  strength.  Mere 
weight  signifies  little  in  the  unlimited  rod,  and 
one  weighing  9  ounces  may  suit  you  better  than 
one  of  11  or  12  ounces. 

In  selecting  the  rod  with  which  I  have  done 
my  best  general  average  distance  casting,  I  did 
so  with  the  intention  of  trying  a  lighter  one  than 
any  of  the  four  rods  that  I  had  used  during 
several  seasons.  The  one  I  finally  selected  had 
very  slow  action,  and  seemed  to  weigh  less  than 
ten  ounces.  In  practice  it  did  not  tire  my  arm, 
would  lift  a  very  long  line,  and  one  day  I 
weighed  it.  The  old  rods  weighed  12,  11%, 
12,  and  II fi  ounces  respectively;  the  new  one 
I2>4  ounces! 

For  greater  convenience  in  stripping  the  line, 
the  lowermost,  or  hand  guide,  should  be  thirty 
to  thirty-six  inches  from  the  butt  of  the  rod.  It 
is  well  to  have  a  hand  guide  of  phosphor  bronze, 
steel,  or  agate,  as  this  guide  is  subjected  to  ex- 
cessive wear.  I  prefer  bronze  for  the  reason 
that  agates  are  so  easily  broken.     And  agate 


TOURNAMENT  FLYCASIING   141 

tops  are  an  abomination.  The  other  guides 
should  be  snake  pattern  and  a  little  larger  than 
those  of  the  fishing  rod.  Bronzed  steel  guides 
are  best. 

In  casting  with  the  heavy  rod,  hold  the  butt 
against  the  muscles  of  the  forearm,  thumb  ex- 
tended along  the  grasp,  wrist  absolutely  rigid. 
(Fig.  31.).  Cast  just  as  you  would  if  the  grasp 
were  lashed  to  your  hand  and  arm.  The  only 
hinges  are  at  the  elbow  and  shoulder. 

You  lift  the  line  with  the  whole  arm;  you 
stop  the  rod  with  rigid  arm  and  wrist,  keeping 
the  butt  against  the  forearm.  This  is  a  difficult 
thing  to  master,  but  it  can  and  must  be  done. 
I  find  it  a  help  to  use  a  soft  rubber  buttcap, 
which  prevents  the  butt  from  slipping  off  the 
forearm  in  lifting  the  line.  I  use  one  of  the 
caps  made  for  bait  rods,  but  trim  it  down  until 
it  is  the  same  diameter  as  the  handgrasp. 


THE    END 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

U  A  MHD  r\CXlT  C  The  textbooks  for  out- 
rlJ\l\MJDVJ\Jt%Sj    door   work   and  play 

€L  Each  book  deals  with  a  separate  subject  and  deals  with  it  thor- 
oughly. If  you  want  to  know  anything  about  Airedales  an  OUTING 
HANDBOOK  gives  you  all  you  want.  If  it's  Apple  Growing,  another 
OUTING  HANDBOOK  meets  your  need.  The  Fisherman,  the 
Camper,  the  Poultry-raiser,  the  Automobilist,  the  Horseman,  all 
varieties  of  out-door  enthusiasts,  will  find  separate  volumes  for  their 
separate  interests.    There  is  no  waste  space. 

€£  The  series  is  based  on  the  plan  of  one  subject  to  a  book  and  each 
book  complete.  The  authors  are  experts.  Each  book  has  been 
specially  prepared  for  this  series  and  all  are  published  in  uniform 
style,  flexible  cloth  binding. 

CL  Two  hundred  titles  are  projected.  The  series  covers  all  phases 
of  outdoor  life,  from  bee-keeping  to  big-game  shooting.  Among  the 
books  now  ready  or  in  preparation  are  those  described  on  the  fol- 
lowing pages. 

PRICE  SEVENTY  CENTS  PER  VOL.  NET,  POSTAGE  5c.  EXTRA 
THE  NUMBERS  MAKE  ORDERING  EASY. 

1.    EXERCISE   AND   HEALTH,  by   Dr.    Woods 

Hutchinson.  Dr.  Hutchinson  takes  the  common-sense  view  that 
the  greatest  problem  in  exercise  for  most  of  us  is  to  get  enough  of 
the  right  kind.  The  greatest  error  in  exercise  is  not  to  take  enough, 
and  the  greatest  danger  in  athletics  is  in  giving  them  up.  He  writes 
in  a  direct  matter-of-fact  manner  with  an  avoidance  of  medical  terms, 
and  a  strong  emphasis  on  the  rational,  all-round  manner  of  living 
that  is  best  calculated  to  bring  a  man  to  a  ripe  old  age  with  little 
illness  or  consciousness  of  bodily  weakness. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY-NEW  YORK 

2.  CAMP  COOKERY,  by  Horace  Kephart.  "The 
less  a  man  carries  in  his  pack  the  more  he  must  carry  in  his  head," 
says  Mr.  Kephart.  This  book  tells  what  a  man  should  carry  in  both 
pack  and  head.  Every  step  is  traced — the  selection  of  provisions 
and  utensils,  with  the  kind  and  quantity  of  each,  the  preparation  of 
game,  the  building  of  fires,  the  cooking  of  every  conceivable  kind  of 
food  that  the  camp  outfit  or  woods,  fields  or  streams  may  provide — 
even  to  the  making  of  desserts.  Every  recipe  is  the  result  of  hard 
practice  and  long  experience. 


3.  BACKWOODS  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE, 

by  Charles  S.  Moody,  M.  D.  A  handy  book  for  the  pru- 
dent lover  of  the  woods  who  doesn't  expect  to  be  ill  but  believes  in 
being  on  the  safe  side.  Common-sense  methods  for  the  treatment 
of  the  ordinary  wounds  and  accidents  are  described — setting  a 
broken  limb,  reducing  a  dislocation,  caring  for  burns,  cuts,  etc. 
Practical  remedies  for  camp  diseases  are  recommended,  as  well  as 
the  ordinary  indications  of  the  most  probable  ailments.  Includes  a 
list  of  the  necessary  medical  and  surgical  supplies. 

4.  APPLE  GROWING,  by   M.    C.   Burritt.    The 

vario.us  problems  confronting  the  apple  grower,  from  the  preparation 
of  the  soil  and  the  planting  of  the  trees  to  the  marketing  of  the  fruit, 
are  discussed  in  detail  by  the  author.  Chapter  headings  are: — The 
Outlook  for  the  Growing  of  Apples — Planning  for  the  Orchard — 
Planting  and  Growing  the  Orchard — Pruning  the  Trees — Cultivation 
and  Cover  Cropping — Manuring  and  Fertilizing — Insects  and  Dis- 
eases Affecting  the  Apple — The  Principles  and  Practice  of  Spraying 
— Harvesting  and  Storing — Markets  and  Marketing — Some  Hints  on 
Renovating  Old  Orchards — The  Cost  of  Growing  Apples. 

5.  THE  AIREDALE,  by  Williams  Haynes.  The 
book  opens  with  a  short  chapter  on  the  origin  and  development  of 
the  Airedale,  as  a  distinctive  breed.  The  author  then  takes  up  the 
problems  of  type  as  bearing  on  the  selection  of  the  dog,  breeding, 
training  and  use.  The  book  is  designed  for  the  non-professional  dog 
fancier,  who  wishes  common  sense  advice  which  does  not  involve 
elaborate  preparations  or  expenditure.  Chapters  are  included  on  the 
care  of  the  dog  in  the  kennel  and  simple  remedies  for  ordinary 
diseases. 


OUTING  PUBLISH  TNG  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

•  6.  THE  AUTOMOBILE— Its  Selection,  Care  and 
Use,  by  Robert  Sloss.  This  is  a  plain,  practical  discussion  of 
the  things  that  every  man  needs  to  know  if  he  is  to  buy  the  right  car 
and  get  the  most  out  of  it.  The  various  details  of  operation  and 
care  are  given  in  simple,  intelligent  terms.  From  it  the  car  owner 
can  easily  learn  the  mechanism  of  his  motor  and  the  art  of  locating 
motor  trouble,  as  well  as  how  to  use  his  car  for  the  greatest  pleasure. 
A  chapter  is  included  on  building  garages. 

7.    FISHING     KITS     AND     EQUIPMENT,    by 

Samuel  G.  Camp.  A  complete  guide  to  the  angler  buying  a  new, 
outfit.  Every  detail  of  the  fishing  kit  of  the  freshwater  angler  is  de- 
scribed, from  rodtip  to  creel,  and  clothing.  Special  emphasis  is  laid 
on  outfitting  for  fly  fishing,  but  full  instruction  is  also  given  to  the 
man  who  wants  to  catch  pickerel,  pike,  muskellunge,  lake-trout,  bass 
and  other  freshwater  game  fishes.  Prices  are  quoted  for  all  articles 
recommended  and  the  approved  method  of  selecting  and  testing  the 
various  rods,  lines,  leaders,  etc.,  is  described. 


8.  THE  FINE  ART  OF  FISHING,  by  Samuel  G.] 

Camp.  Combine  the  pleasure  of  catching  fish  with  the  gratification 
of  following  the  sport  in  the  most  approved  manner.  The  sugges- 
tions offered  are  helpful  to  beginner  and  expert  anglers.  The  range 
of  fish  and  fishing  conditions  covered  is  wide  and  includes  such  sub- 
jects as  ''Casting  Fine  and  Far  Off,"  "Strip-Casting  for  Bass,"  "Fish- 
ing for  Mountain  Trout"  and  "Autumn  Fishing  for  Lake  Trout." 
The  book  is  pervaded  with  a  spirit  of  love  for  the  streamside  and 
the  out-doors  generally  which  the  genuine  angler  will  appreciate. 
A  companion  book  to  "Fishing  Kits  and  Equipment."  The  advice 
on  outfitting  so  capably  given  in  that  book  is  supplemented  in  this 
later  work  by  equally  valuable  information  on  how  to  use  the 
equipment. 

9.  THE  HORSE— Its  Breeding,  Care  and  Use,  by 
David  Buffum.  Mr.  BufFum  takes  up  the  common,  every-day 
problems  of  the  ordinary  horse-users,  such  as  feeding,  shoeing, 
simple  home  remedies,  breaking  and  the  cure  for  various  equine 
vices.  An  important  chapter  is  that  tracing  the  influx  of  Arabian 
blood  into  the  English  and  American  horses  and  its  value  and  limi- 
tations. Chapters  are  included  on  draft-horses,  carriage  horses,  and 
the  development  of  the  two-minute  trotter.  It  is  distinctly  a  sensible 
book  for  the  sensible  man  who  wishes  to  know  how  he  can  improve 
his  horses  and  his  horsemanship  at  the  same  time. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

10.  THE  MOTOR  BOAT— Its  Selection,  Care  and 

Use,  by  H.  W.  Slauson.  The  intending  purchaser  is  advised 
as  to  the  type  of  motor  boat  best  suited  to  his  particular  needs  and 
how  to  keep  it  in  running  condition  after  purchased.  The  chapter 
headings  are  :  Kinds  and  Uses  of  Motor  Boats — When  the  Motor 
Balks — Speeding  of  the  Motor  Boat — Getting  More  Power  from  a 
New  Motor — How  to  Install  a  Marine  Power  Plant — Accessories — 
Covers,  Canopies  and  Tops — Camping  and  Cruising — The  Boathouse. 

11.  OUTDOOR  SIGNALLING,  by  Elbert  Wells. 

Mr.  Wells  has  perfected  a  method  of  signalling  by  means  of  wig- 
wag, light,  smoke,  or  whistle  which  is  as  simple  as  it  is  effective. 
The  fundamental  principle  can  be  learned  in  ten  minutes  and  its 
application  is  far  easier  than  that  of  any  other  code  now  in  use. 
It  permits  also  the  use  of  cipher  and  can  be  adapted  to  almost  any 
imaginable  conditions  of  weather,  light,  or  topography. 

12.  TRACKS  AND  TRACKING,  by  Josef  Brunner. 

After  twenty  years  of  patient  study  and  practical  experience,  Mr. 
Brunner  can,  from  his  intimate  knowledge,  speak  with  authority  on 
this  subject.  "Tracks  and  Tracking"  shows  how  to  follow  intelli- 
gently even  the  most  intricate  animal  or  bird  tracks.  It  teaches  how 
to  interpret  tracks  of  wild  game  and  decipher  the  many  tell-tale 
signs  of  the  chase  that  would  otherwise  pass  unnoticed.  It  proves 
how  it  is  possible  to  tell  from  the  footprints  the  name,  sex,  speed, 
direction,  whether  and  how  wounded,  and  many  other  things  about 
wild  animals  and  birds.  All  material  has  been  gathered  first  hand ; 
the  drawings  and  half-tones  from  photographs  form  an  important 
part  of  the  work. 


13.  WING  AND  TRAP-SHOOTING,  by  Charles 
Askins.  Contains  a  full  discussion  of  the  various  methods, 
such  as  snap-shooting,  swing  and  half-swing,  discusses  the  flight  of 
birds  with  reference  to  the  gunner's  problem  of  lead  and  range  and 
makes  special  application  of  the  various  points  to  the  different  birds 
commonly  shot  in  this  country.  A  chapter  is  included  on  trap 
shooting  and  the  book  closes  with  a  forceful  and  common-sense 
^presentation  of  the  etiquette  of  the  field. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

14.  PROFITABLE  BREEDS  OF  POULTRY,  by 

Arthur  S.  Wheeler.     Mr.  Wheeler  discusses  from  personal  ex- 

Eerience  the  faest-known  general  purpose  breeds.  Advice  is  given 
•om  the  standpoint  of  the  man  who  desires  results  in  eggs  and  stock 
rather  than  in  specimens  for  exhibition.  In  addition  to  a  careful 
analysis  of  stock — good  and  bad — and  some  conclusions  regarding 
housing  and  management,  the  author  writes  in  detail  regarding 
Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyandottes,  Orpingtons,  Rhode  Island  Reds, 
Mediterraneans  and  the  Cornish. 

15.  RIFLES  AND  RIFLE  SHOOTING,  by  Charles 

Askms.  A  practical  manual  describing  various  makes  and  mechan- 
isms, in  addition  to  discussing  in  detail  the  range  and  limitations  in 
the  use  of  the  rifle.  Treats  on  the  every  style  and  make  of  rifle 
as  well  as  their  use.  Every  type  of  rifle  is  discussed  so  that  the 
book  is  complete  in  every  detail. 

16.  SPORTING  FIREARMS,  by  Horace  Kephart. 
This  book  is  the  result  of  painstaking  tests  and  experiments.  Prac- 
tically nothing  is  taken  for  granted.  Part  I  deals  with  the  rifle,  and 
Part  II  with  the  shotgun.  The  man  seeking  guidance  in  the  selec- 
tion and  use  of  small  firearms,  as  well  as  the  advanced  student  of 
the  subject,  will  receive  an  unusual  amount  of  assistance  from  this 
work.  The  chapter  headings  are:  Rifles  and  Ammunition — The 
Flight  of  Bullets — Killing  Power — Rifle  Mechanism  and  Materials — 
Rifle  Sights — Triggers  and  Stocks — Care  of  Rifle — Shot  Patterns  and 
Penetration — Gauges  and  Weights — Mechanism  and  Build  of 
Shotguns. 

17.  THE  YACHTSMAN'S  HANDBOOK,  by  Herbert 

L.  Stone.  The  author  and  compiler  of  this  work  is  the  editor  of 
u  Yachting."  He  treats  in  simple  language  of  the  many  problems 
confronting  the  amateur  sailor  and  motor  boatman.  Handling 
ground  tackle,  handling  lines,  taking  soundings,  the  use  of  the  lead 
line,  care  and  use  of  sails,  yachting  etiquette,  are  all  given  careful 
attention.  Some  light  is  thrown  upon  the  operation  of  the  gasoline 
motor,  and  suggestions  are  made  for  the  avoidance  of  engine 
troubles. 

18.  SCOTTISH  AND  IRISH  TERRIERS,  by  Wtt- 

liams  Haynes.  This  is  a  companion  book  to  "The  Airedale,** 
and  deals  with  the  history  and  development  of  both  breeds.  For 
the  owner  of  the  dog,  valuable  information  is  given  as  to  the  use  of 
the  terriers,  their  treatment  in  health,  their  treatment  when  sick, 
.  the  principles  of  dog  breeding,  and  dog  shows  and  rules. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK    ' 

1  ■  ■  w 

19.  NAVIGATION  FOR  THE  AMATEUR,  by  Capt. 

E.  T.  Morton.  A  short  treatise  on  the  simpler  methods  of  find* 
ing  position  at  sea  by  the  observation  of  the  sun's  altitude  and  the 
use  of  the  sextant  and  chronometer.  It  is  arranged  especially  for 
yachtsmen  and  amateurs  who  wish  to  know  the  simpler  formulae 
for  the  necessary  navigation  involved  in  taking  a  boat  anywhere  off 
shore.  Illustrated  with  drawings.  Chapter  headings :  Fundamental 
Terms — Time — The  Sumner  Line — The  Day's  Work,  Equal  Altitude, 
and  Ex-Meridian  Sights — Hints  on  Taking  Observations. 

20.  OUTDOOR  PHOTOGRAPHY,  by  Julian  A. 

Dimock.  A  solution  of  all  the  problems  in  camera  work  out-of- 
doors.  The  various  subjects  dealt  with  are :  The  Camera — Lens  and 
Plates — Light  and  Exposure — Development — Prints  and  Printing — 
Composition — Landscapes — Figure  Work— Speed  Photography — The 
Leaping  Tarpon— Sea  Pictures — In  the  Good  Old  Winter  Time — 
Wild  Life. 

21.  PACKING    AND    PORTAGING,   by    Dttlon 

Wallace.  Mr.  Wallace  has  brought  together  in  one  volume  all 
the  valuable  information  on  the  different  ways  of  making  and  carry- 
ing the  different  kinds  of  packs.  The  ground  covered  ranges  from 
man-packing  to  horse-packing,  from  the  use  of  the  tump  line  to 
throwing  the  diamond  hitch. 

22.  THE  BULL  TERRIER,  by  Williams  Haynes. 

This  is  a  companion  book  to  "The  Airedale"  and  "Scottish  and  Irish 
Terriers'*  by  the  same  author.  Its  greatest  usefulness  is  as  a  guide 
to  the  dog  owner  who  wishes  to  be  his  own  kennel  manager.  A  full 
account  of  the  development  of  the  breed  is  given  with  a  description 
of  best  types  and  standards.  Recommendations  for  the  care  of 
the  dog  in  health  or  sickness  are  included.  The  chapter  heads 
cover  such  matters  as: — The  Bull  Terrier's  History — Training  the 
Bull  Terrier— The  Terrier  in  Health— Kenneling— Diseases. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY-NEW  YORK 

23.  THE  FOX  TERRIER,  by  Williams  Haynes. 

As  in  his  other  books  on  the  terrier,  Mr.  Haynes  takes  up  the  origin 
and  history  of  the  breed,  its  types  and  standards,  and  the  more  ex- 
clusive representatives  down  to  the  present  time.  Training  the  Fox 
Terrier — His  Care  and  Kenneling  in  Sickness  and  Health — and  the 
Various  Uses  to  Which  He  Can  Be  Put — are  among  the  phases 
handled. 

24.  SUBURBAN    GARDENS,    by    Grace    Tabor. 

Illustrated  with  diagrams.  The  author  regards  the  house  and 
grounds  as  a  complete  unit  and  shows  how  the  best  results  may  be 
obtained  by  carrying  the  reader  in  detail  through  the  various  phases 
of  designing  the  garden,  with  the  levels  and  contours  necessary, 
laying  out  the  walks  and  paths,  planning  and  placing  the  arbors, 
summer  houses,  seats,  etc.,  and  selecting  and  placing  trees,  shrubs, 
vines  and  flowers.  Ideal  plans  for  plots  of  various  sizes  are  appended, 
as  well  as  suggestions  for  correcting  mistakes  that  have  been  made 
through  "starting  wrong." 


25.  FISHING    WITH    FLOATING    FLIES,   by 

Samuel  G.  Camp.  This  is  an  art  that  is  comparatively  new  in 
this  country  although  English  anglers  have  used  the  dry  fly  for 
generations.  Mr.  Camp  has  given  the  matter  special  study  and  is 
one  of  the  few  American  anglers  who  really  understands  the  matter 
from  the  selection  of  the  outfit  to  the  landing  of  the  fish.  His  book 
lakes  up  the  process  in  that  order,  namely — How  to  Outfit  for  Dry 
Fly  Fishing — How,  Where,  and  When  to  Cast — The  Selection  and 
Use  of  Floating  Flies — Dry  Fly  Fishing  for  Brook,  Brown  and 
Rainbow  Trout — Hooking,  Playing  and  Landing — Practical  Hints  on 
Dry  Fly  Fishing. 

26.  THE  GASOLINE  MOTOR,  by  Harold  Whiting 

Slauson.  Deals  with  the  practical  problems  of  motor  operation. 
The  standpoint  is  that  of  the  man  who  wishes  to  know  how  and 
why  gasoline  generates  power  and  something  about  the  various 
types.  Describes  in  detail  the  different  parts  of  motors  and  the 
faults  to  which  they  are  liable.  Also  gives  full  directions  as  to  re- 
pair and  upkeep.  Various  chapters  deal  with  Types  of  Motors — 
Valves  —  Bearings  —  Ignition — Carburetors — Lubrication —  Fuel — 
Two  Cycle  Motors. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

27.  ICE  BOATING,  by  H.  L  Stone.  Illustrated  with 
diagrams.  Here  have  been  brought  together  all  the  available  in- 
formation on  the  organization  and  history  of  ice-boating,  the  build- 
ing of  the  various  types  of  ice  yachts,  from  the  small  15  footer  to 
the  600-foot  racer,  together  with  detailed  plans  and  specifications. 
Full  information  is  also  given  to  meet  the  needs  of  those  who  wish 
to  be  able  to  build  and  sail  their  own  boats  but  are  handicapped  by 
the  lack  of  proper  knowledge  as  to  just  the  points  described  in  this 
volume. 

28.  MODERN  GOLF,  by  Harold  H.  Hilton.    Mr. 

Hilton  is  the  only  man  who  has  ever  held  the  amateur  champion- 
ship of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  in  the  same  year.  In 
addition  to  this,  he  has,  for  years,  been  recognized  as  one  of  the 
most  intelligent,  steady  players  of  the  game  in  England.  This  book 
is  a  product  of  his  advanced  thought  and  experience  and  gives  the 
reader  sound  advice,  not  so  much  on  the  mere  swinging  of  the  clubs 
as  in  the  actual  playing  of  the  game,  with  all  the  factors  that  enter 
into  it.  He  discusses  the  use  of  wooden  clubs,  the  choice  of  clubs, 
the  art  of  approaching,  tournament  play  as  a  distinct  thing  in  itself, 
and  kindred  subjects. 

29.  INTENSIVE  FARMING,  by  L.  C.  Corbett. 

A  discussion  of  the  meaning,  method  and  value  of  intensive  methods 
in  agriculture.  This  book  is  designed  for  the  convenience  of  prac- 
tical farmers  who  find  themselves  under  the  necessity  of  making  a 
living  out  of  high-priced  land. 

30.  PRACTICAL  DOG  BREEDING,  by  Williams 
Haynes.  This  is  a  companion  volume  to  PRACTICAL  DOG 
KEEPING,  described  below.  It  goes  at  length  into  the  funda- 
mental questions  of  breeding,  such  as  selection  of  types  on  both 
sides,  the  perpetuation  of  desirable,  and  the  elimination  of  undesir- 
able, qualities,  the  value  of  prepotency  in  building  up  a  desired 
breed,  etc.  The  arguments  are  illustrated  with  instances  of  what 
has  been  accomplished,  both  good  and  bad,  in  the  case  of  well- 
known  breeds. 

31.  PRACTICAL   DOG  KEEPING,  by  Williams 

Haynes.  Mr.  Haynes  is  well  known  to  the  readers  of  the  OUTING 
HANDBOOKS  as  the  author  of  books  on  the  terriers.  His  new 
book  is  somewhat  more  ambitious  in  that  it  carries  him  into  the 
general  field  of  selection  of  breeds,  the  buying  and  selling  of  dogs, 
the  care  of  dogs  in  kennels,  handling  in  bench  shows  and  field  trials, 
and  at  considerable  length  into  such  subjects  as  food  and  feeding, 
exercise  and  grooming,  disease,  etc 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 


32.  PRACTICAL  TREE    PLANTING,  by  C.  R. 

Pettis.  The  author,  who  is  the  New  York  State  Forester,  takes  up 
the  general  subject  of  reforesting,  covering  nature's  method  and  the 
practical  methods  of  broadcast  seed-sowing,  seed  spot  planting, 
nursery  practice,  etc.  The  various  species  are  described  and  their 
adaptability  to  varying  conditions  indicated.  Results  of  reforesting 
are  shown  and  instructions  are  given  for  the  planting  of  wind- 
breaks and  shade  trees. 

33.  AMATEUR  RODMAKING,  by  Perry  D.  Frazer. 

Illustrated.  A  practical  manual  for  all  those  who  want  to  make 
their  own  rod  and  fittings.  It  contains  a  review  of  fishing  rod  his- 
tory, a  discussion  of  materials,  a  list  of  the  tools  needed,  description 
of  the  method  to  be  followed  in  making  all  kinds  of  rods,  including 
fly-casting,  bait-fishing,  ealmon,  etc.,  with  full  instructions  for  wind- 
ing, varnishing,  etc. 

34.  PISTOLANDREVOLVERSHOOTING,byA.L. 

A.  Himmelwright.  A  new  and  revised  edition  of  a  work  that  has 
already  achieved  prominence  as  an  accepted  authority  on  the  use  of 
the  hand  gun.  Full  instructions  are  given  in  the  use  of  both  revolver 
and  target  pistol,  including  shooting  position,  grip,  position  of  arm,  etc. 
The  book  is  thoroughly  illustrated  with  diagrams  and  photographs 
and  includes  the  *rules  of  the  United  States  Revolver  Association 
and  a  list  of  the  records  made  both  here  and  abroad. 

35.  PIGEON  RAISING,  by  Alice  MacLeod.    This 

is  a  book  for  both  fancier  and  market  breeder.  Full  descriptions 
are  given  of  the  construction  of  houses,  the  care  of  the  birds,  pre- 
paration for  market,  and  shipment.  Descriptions  of  the  various 
breeds  with  their  markings  and  characteristics  are  given.  Illustrated 
With  photographs  and  diagrams. 

36.  FISHING  TACKLE,  by  Perry  D.  Frazer.  Il- 
lustrated. The  subtitle  is  descriptive.  "Hints  for  Beginners  in 
the  Selection,  Care,  and  Use  of  Rods,  Reels,  Lines,  etc."  It  tells  all 
the  fisherman  needs  to  know  about  making  and  overhauling  his 
tackle  during  the  closed  season  and  gives  full  instructions  for  tour- 
nament casting  and  fly-casting.  Chapters  are  included  on  cases  and 
holders  for  the  care  of  tackle  when  not  in  use. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY—NEW  YORK 
~37.     AUTOMOBILE     OPERATION,    by    A.    L. 

Brennan,  Jr.  Illustrated.  Tells  the  plain  truth  about  the  little 
things  that  every  motorist  wants  to  know  about  his  own  car.  Do 
you  want  to  cure  ignition  troubles?  Overhaul  and  adjust  your 
carbureter?  Keep  your  transmission  in  order?  Get  the  maximum 
wear  out  of  your  tires?  Do  any  other  of  the  hundred  and  one 
things  that  are  necessary  for  the  greatest  use  and  enjoyment  of  your 
car?    Then  you  will  find  this  book  useful. 

38.  THE  FOX  HOUND,  by  Roger  D.  Williams. 
Author  of  "Horse  and  Hound".  Illustrated.  The  author  is 
the  foremost  authority  on  fox  hunting  and  foxhounds  in  America. 
For  years  he  has  kept  the  foxhound  studbook,  and  is  the  final  source 
of  information  on  all  disputed  points  relating  to  this  breed.  His 
book  discusses  types,  methods  of  training,  kenneling,  diseases  and 
all  the  other  practical  points  relating  to  the  use  and  care  of  the 
hound.  An  appendix  is  added  containing  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  hound  field  trials. 

39.  SALT  WATER  GAME  FISHING,  by  Charles 

F.  Holder.  Mr.  Holder  covers  the  whole  field  of  his  subject 
devoting  a  chapter  each  to  such  fish  as  the  tuna,  the  tarpon,  amber* 
jack,  the  sail  fish,  the  yellow-tail,  the  king  fish,  the  barracuda,  the 
sea  bass  and  the  small  game  fishes  of  Florida,  Porto  Rico,  the  Pacific 
Coast,  Hawaii,  and  the  Philippines.  The  habits  and  habitats  of  the 
fish  are  described,  together  with  the  methods  and  tackle  for  taking 
them.  The  book  concludes  with  an  account  of  the  development 
and  rules  of  the  American  Sea  Angling  Clubs.    Illustrated. 

40.  WINTER  CAMPING,  by  Warwick  S.  Carpenter. 
A  book  that  meets  the  increasing  interest  in  outdoor  life  in  the  cold 
weather.  Mr.  Carpenter  discusses  such  subjects  as  shelter  equipment, 
clothing,  food,  snowshoeing,  skiing,  and  winter  hunting,  wild  life  in 
winter  woods,  care  of  frost  bite,  etc  It  is  based  on  much  actual  ex- 
perience in  winter  camping  and  is  fully  illustrated  with  working 
photographs. 

41.  LEARNING  TO  SWIM,  by  L.  DeB.  Handley. 
Illustrated.  Mr.  Handley  takes  up  the  problem  from  the  standpoint 
of  the  person  of  any  sex  or  age  who  cannot  swim  a  stroke.  Step  by 
step  he  unfolds  the  various  stages,  floating,  the  side  stroke,  the 
crawl,  the  trudgeon,  the  breast  stroke,  swimming  on  the  back,  etc., 
concluding  with  a  chapter  on  speed  swimming  and  training  for  rac- 
ing. It  covers  the  whole  field  of  natation  in  a  clear,  simple  manner, 
with  photographs  showing  each  stroke  in  detail. 

42.  BOAT  AND  CANOE  BUILDING,  by  Victor 

Slocum.  AH  of  us  like  to  think  we  could  build  a  boat  if  we  had 
to.  Mr.  Slocum  tells  us  how  to  do  it.  Designs  are  given  for  the 
various  types  of  canoes  as  well  as  full  descriptions  for  preparing  the 
material  and  putting  it  together.  Small  dories  and  lapstreak  boats 
are  also  include*1 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

43.  PRACTICAL     PROSPECTING,    by     Charles 

Johnson  Post.  Illustrated.  Did  you  ever  wonder  what  ore- 
bearing  rock  looked  like  ?  Did  you  ever  want  to  know  how  to  test 
it  for  the  various  minerals?  Would  you  be  interested  in  learning 
how  to  put  together  a  rough  and  ready  outfit  that  would  do  all  the 
work  of  the  more  expensive  kits  ?  This  book  covers  all  these  points 
and  more.  It  is  a  valuable  companion  for  a  walking  trip  through 
the  hills.  It  tells  you  not  only  where  minerals  are  found  and  how, 
but  also  where  you  need  not  expect  to  find  them. 

44.  BOXING,  by  D.  C.  Hutchison.     Practical  in- 

struction  for  men  who  wish  to  learn  the  first  steps  in  the  manly 
art.  Mr.  Hutchison  writes  from  long  personal  experience  as  an 
amateur  boxer  and  as  a  trainer  of  other  amateurs.  His  instructions 
are  accompanied  with  full  diagrams  showing  the  approved  blows 
and  guards.  He  also  gives  full  directions  for  training  for  condition 
without  danger  of  going  stale  from  overtraining.  It  is  essentially  a 
book  for  the  amateur  who  boxes  for  sport  and  exercise. 

45.  TENNIS  TACTICS,  by  Raymond  D.  Little. 

Out  of  his  store  of  experience  as  a  successful  tennis  player,  Mr. 
Little  has  written  this  practical  guide  for  those  who  wish  to  know 
how  real  tennis  is  played.  He  tells  the  reader  when  and  how  to 
take  the  net,  discusses  the  relative  merits  of  the  back-court  and 
volleying  game  and  how  their  proper  balance  may  be  achieved; 
analyzes  and  appraises  the  twist  service,  shows  the  fundamental 
necessities  of  successful  doubles  play. 

46.  THE  AUXILIARY  YACHT,  by  H.  L.  Stone. 

Combines  information  on  the  installation  of  power  in  a  boat  that 
was  not  designed  especially  for  it  with  the  features  desirable  in  de- 
signing a  boat  for  this  double  use.  Deals  with  the  peculiar  proper- 
ties of  the  auxiliary,  its  advantages  and  disadvantages,  the  handling 
of  the  boat  under  sail  and  power,  etc.  Does  not  go  into  detail  on 
engine  construction  but  gives  the  approximate  power  needed  for 
different  boats  and  the  calculations  necessary  to  find  this  figure. 

47.  TAXIDERMY,  by  Leon  L.  Pray.    Illustrated  with 

diagrams.  Being  a  practical  taxidermist,  the  author  at  once  goes  into 
the  question  of  selection  of  tools  and  materials  for  the  various  stages 
of  skinning,  stuffing  and  mounting.  The  subjects  whose  handling 
is  described  are,  for  the  most  part,  the  every-day  ones,  such  as 
ordinary  birds,  small  mammals,  etc.,  although  adequate  instructions 
are  included  for  mounting  big  game  specimens,  as  well  as  the  pre- 
liminary care  of  skins  in  hot  climates.  Full  diagrams  accompany 
the  text. 


OUTING  PUBLISHING  COMPANY— NEW  YORK 

48.  THE  CANOE—ITS  SELECTION,  CARE  AND 

USE,  by  Robert  E.  Pinkerton.  Illustrated  with  photographs. 
With  proper  use  the  canoe  is  one  of  the  safests  crafts  that  floats. 
Mr.  Pinkerton  tells  how  that  state  of  safety  may  he  obtained.  He 
gives  full  instructions  for  the  selection  of  the  right  canoe  for  each 
particular  purpose  or  set  of  conditions.  Then  he  tells  how  it  should 
Le  used  in  order  to  secure  the  maximum  of  safety,  comfort  and  use- 
fulness. His  own  lesson  was  learned  among  the  Indians  of  Canada, 
where  paddling  is  a  high  art,  and  the  use  of  the  canoe  almost  as 
much   a  matter  of  course  as  the  wearing  of  moccasins. 

49.  HORSE    PACKING,     by    Charles    J.    Post. 

Illustrated  with  diagrams.  This  is  a  complete  description  of  the 
hitches,  knots,  and  apparatus  used  in  making  and  carrying  loads  of 
various  kinds  on  horseback.  Its  basis  is  the  methods  followed  in  the 
"West  and  in  the  American  Army.  The  diagrams  are  full  and  detailed, 
giving  the  various  hitches  and  knots  at  each  of  the  important  stages 
so  that  even  the  novice  can  follow  and  use  them.  It  is  the  only 
book  ever  published  on  this  subject  of  which  this  could  be  said. 
Full  description  is  given  of  the  ideal  pack  animal,  as  well  as  a  cata- 
logue of  the  diseases  and  injuries  to  which  such  animals  are  subject. 

50.  RAINY  DAY  IN  CAMP,  by  C.  H.  Claudy. 

Illustrated.  What  do  you  do  when  you  are  stormbound  in  the  camp 
and  time  hangs  heavy  on  your  hands?  This  book  gives  a  long  list 
of  games  that  you  can  play  and  the  rules  that  govern  them.  It  also 
describes  various  improvised  indoor  occupation!  appropriate  to 
camp  life.  If  you  have  it  in  your  duffle  bag  you  need  not  fear  the 
approach  of  threatening  clouds. 

51.  WALKING    OUTFITS,    by   C    P.    Fordyce. 

Illustrated.  Every  year  the  adherents  of  "hiking"  in  this  country 
grow  in  numbers  and  enthusiasm.  It  is  an  old  art  and  a  valuable 
one.  But  something  more  than  a  pair  of  legs  is  necessary  to  make 
the  walking  trip  a  success.  You  must  wear  the  right  shoes  and  the 
right  clothes.  You  must  carry  with  you  the  right  kind  of  sleeping 
and  cooking  outfit.  Mr.  Fordyce  gives  the  concentrated  experience 
of  many  years  on  highway  and  trail. 

52.  LEARNING  TO  SKATE,     by  J.   F.  Verne. 

Illustrated.  Half  the  fun  of  skating  is  in  knowing  how  to  do  if 
with  the  least  effort.  Nothing  is  so  easy  when  you  know  how — or 
so  hard  when  you  don't.  This  book  describes  the  process  in  detail 
from  the  first  day  on  the  ice  to  the  highest  development  of 
speed  and  fancy  skating.  The  author  is  familiar  with  the  latest 
developments  in  Europe  where  figure  skating  has  been  carried  to 
a  much  higher  point  than  in  America. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DeIk  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
This  book  jsdu  e  date  ^  wh.ch  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject^ojmmedme^l^ 


LD  21A-50m-3,'62 
(C7097slO)476B 


General  Library     . 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


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106"" 


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